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Stories from 

iJ^Histor? 




J, P. Bell Company. Publishers 

Ljwchburg,Va. 






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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap. _ Copyright No.. 

Shelf. 1 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




A*^^^Xv &h^u-#i^€£ 



STORIES FROM 



VIRGINIA HISTORY 



FOR THE YOUNG 



BY J 

MARY TUCKER MAGILL 



PREPARED ESPECIALLY FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AS AN INTRO- 
DUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF VIRGINIA 



& 




J. P. BELL COMPANY, Publishers 

LYNCHBURG, VA. 



Jr\£5 ncCtiVED 



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7 



•111? 



2542 



Copyright, 1897, by 
J. P. BELL COMPANY 



TO THE TEACHER 

In sending out this little book, 1 find myself 
much interested in the teachers and pupils who 
will use it, and am impelled to write a word to my 
Fellow Teachers. I have tried to make my 
language as simple as possible, but I really do not 
like the books in words of three or four letters. 
Children should be taught lanorua^e, and if the 
teacher will explain the meaning of the words to 
the class, taking them in connection with the rest 
of the sentence, they will be much more easily 
remembered than when studied in the columns of 
a dictionary. I would also suggest that the chil- 
dren be encouraged to tell the stories in their own 
language. They will thus learn to express them- 
selves with ease and fluency. In the sketches of 
Virginians, I am greatly impressed with the salu- 
tary lessons their lives contain ; young children 
catch so readily at things of that kind. Many a 
boy will dream of being a Patrick Henry, a Wash- 
ington, an honest man like Monroe, or a hero like 
Lee or Jackson. I have tried to " point a moral 
and adorn a tale," but a teacher on the spot can 



6 TO THE TEACHER 

do so much more. Only think, fellow teachers, 
what a work to set for ourselves — to build, out of 
the present generation, men like the giants of the 
past, without their faults ; for, in writing of them, 
we naturally draw a veil over the weaknesses of 
the dead. 

As a veteran in your noble mission, I say to 
you, let us work together to bring back the past of 
our noble old State, so that the children of the 
future may gather strength to go forward with 
brave, firm footsteps, putting their feet into the 
prints their fathers have left, so that it may con- 
tinue to be the pride of the Old Dominion that 
her sons grow stronger and stronger, and her 
daughters more and more beautiful in virtue, until 
time shall be no longer. 

Very truly your friend, 

Mary Tucker Magill. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I— The Start, December, 1606 9 

II — Jamestown, 1607 14 

III— Hiawatha 21 

IV— Pocahontas 29 

V — What the Colonists Found in Virginia . . 34 

VI— Bacon's Rebellion 40 

VII — Bacon's Rebellion (Continued) .... 46 

VIII— Bacon's Rebellion (Concluded)— Tobacco Re- 
bellion 50 

IX— George Washington, 1732 56 

X— Lord Fairfax, 1750 61 

XI — Surveying 65 

XII— The War Between France and England . . 69 

XIII — The Journey Home 74 

XIV — War with France 79 

XV — Williamsburg, 1774 84 

XVI— Lord Dunmore 89 

XVII— Troubles in the West 96 

XVIII — Attack on Fort Wheeling 101 

XIX — Attack on Fort Wheeling (Continued) . . 106 

XX— Great Men of Virginia 112 

XXI — Stamp Act and Patrick Henry . . . .116 



8 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXII— Patrick Henry . . . . . . .120 

XXIII — Patrick Henry (Continued) . . . .124 

XXIV — John Randolph 129 

XXV— The Virginia Presidents 134 

XXVI— James Monroe 139 

XXVII— Lafayette .143 

XXV' III — Surrender of Cornwallis . . . .148 

XXIX — The John Brown Raid and What Led to It . 153 

XXX— The First Gun of the Civil War . . .157 

XXXI— General Robert E. Lee 162 

XXXII— General Robert E. Lee (Continued) . . 167 

XXXIII— Stonewall Jackson 173 

XXXIV — Stonewall Jackson (Continued) . . .177 

XXXV— Stonewall Jackson (Concluded) . . .181 

XXXVI — General Turner Ashby 184 

XXXVII — General Turner Ashby (Continued) . . 192 

XXXVIII— Lieutenant-General J. E. B. Stuart . . 197 

XXXIX— Lieutenant-General J. E. B. Stuart (Con- 
tinued) 201 

XL— The Beverly Raid 210 



STORIES FROM 

VIRGINIA HISTORY 

CHAPTER I 

THE START, DECEMBER, 1 606 

Nearly three hundred years ago, in the month 
of December, in the city of London, when English 
children were be^innine to think of Christmas 
gifts, and the boys were snowballing and sliding 
in the streets, just as children do now-a-days, a 
great excitement might have been observed among 
the older people. Men and women were hurry- 
ing to and fro, or ^atherincr a t the corners of the 
streets, talking earnestly, and the word " Virginia" 
was often heard. If you had been there, you 
would, probably, have asked what it all meant, 
and would have been told that King James the 
First was that day to send three vessels full of 



IO STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

men to Virginia to found a colony which he was 
to plant in the New World discovered by Colum- 
bus more than a hundred years before. 

These vessels had been launched in the River 
Thames, near Blackwall, a short distance below 









London, and were named the " Susan Constance," 
the " Godspeed," and the little pinnace " Dis- 
covery." Three tiny ships to bear across the 
stormy Atlantic the beginners of a new nation. 
There were a hundred and five men in the party : 
among them were Captain Newport, the com- 
mander ; Captain John Smith ; and others, with 
whom you will become well acquainted when you 
study the History of Virginia. 

Try and realize the scene when the boats started 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY II 

on their voyage. The shouts of the men ; the 
tears of the wives left behind, for no woman was 
allowed to go with them ; and then, as the boats 
disappeared in the distance, the sad turning home- 
ward of those on shore, who knew that the chance 
was, that the men from whom they had parted 
would never come back. The reason for their 
starting at this season of the year was, that they 
might be in time to sow their seed in the spring. 
They had a long, stormy, tedious voyage. The 
trip across the Atlantic, which now is made in six 
days, took them five months. There was no steam, 
no machinery, such as we have now.- They did not 
know the path as it is known now-a-days, and lost 
a great deal of time going round about un-nec-es- 
sa-ri-ly. They had to depend upon the winds, 
which were often con-tra-ry, and the crew was a 
very dis-or-der-ly one. There was no one of the 
party who had any con-trol. The only man who 
might have managed them, Captain Smith, had no 
au-thor-i-ty, and was hated by the others. They 
even quarrelled with old Preacher Hunt because 



12 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

he did not pray hard enough to keep away the 
storms out of their path. 

Their intention had been to land at Roanoke 
Island, where an attempt had been made to plant 
an English colony years before. But they en- 
countered a violent storm, which blew them far- 
ther north, and they found themselves between 
two capes, and at the entrance of a wide bay. 
They called the capes Henry and Charles after 
the two sons of the king. They landed on Cape 
Henry ; and only one year ago I went with a 
party of Virginians to plant a cross on the spot 
where they first moored their boats. 

The next day they sailed on through the beauti- 
ful Ches-a-peake Bay, which you all know so well. 
The next point of land at which they touched, they 
called Point Hope, which must have been some- 
where about Norfolk, as visitors to that part of the 
State are shown places, spoken of in Captain 
Smith's book, where they picked straw-ber-ries, 
the largest they had ever seen, and where the 
ground was spread with many " sweet and deli- 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 13 

cate flowers of divers colors and kinds," until the 
weary voyagers said that "heaven and earth had 
never agreed better to make a place for man's habi- 
tation." They were like children in a fairy-land, 
everything was so new and strange. 

It was here that they first met with the Indians, 
who came creeping around in the darkness of the 
night, and two of their number were very seriously 
hurt by the arrows of the Indians; but the guns of 
the English soon drove them away, and they had 
a friendly visit from the chief of the Rap-pa-han- 
nock Indians, who, they say, was dressed like an 
Indian dandy. His body was stained crimson, and 
his face was painted blue, and smeared with some- 
thing that looked like silver to the greedy eyes of 
the Eno-lish. 

The next point at which they touched they 
called Point Comfort, which we know as Old 
Point Comfort, where the schools for the Indians 
and freedmen are ; and on the 13th of May they 
landed on a low pen-in-su-la, beautiful at that 
season with flowers of dog-wood and red-bud, and 



14 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

here they determined to make their settlement. 
They called this place Jamestown. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER I 

Tell of the expedition from Blackwall, England, in December, 
1606. 

How long did the journey take which is now made in six days ? 

Who was King of England at that time ? 

After whom did they name the two capes between which they 
entered Chesapeake Bay ? 

Tell of their first landing. 

Where do we suppose Point Hope was ? Describe it. 

Where did they next land ? 

Tell what you know of this place. 

Where did they make their final settlement ? Describe it. 



CHAPTER II 

JAMESTOWN, 1607 

After passing Point Comfort, they had entered 
the wide mouth of a beautiful river, which they 
called James in honor of their king. The Indians 
had called it Pow-hat-tan, which was the name of 
their king, who ruled over all the tribes in that 



l6 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

part of the country. The peninsula they chose 
was about twenty miles from the mouth of this 
river. It seems strange to us that they should 
have chosen this low place for their home ; they 
might have known, as we do now, that it was 
unhealthy ; but I suppose they were attracted by 
the beauty of the country and the ease with 
which they could moor their boats in the deep 
water and tie them to the trees on the shore. 

When you study the History of Virginia, you 
will learn many stories of this colony which it 
Avould be useless to tell here. 

It had been very unfortunate for the colony 
that King James had not been more particular in 
choosing the men who were to compose it. If he 
had made choice of hard-working countrymen, 
who were accustomed to tilling' the ground, or of 
carpenters and builders, the fate of the settlement 
at Jamestown would have been very different. 
But although James was King of England, he was 
not a very wise man ; so he chose for his colony 
broken-down gentlemen who, through ex-trav-a- 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 1 7 

gance and in-do-lence, had lost their fortunes, and 
hoped to grow rich in the New World by digging 
away a little earth and picking up gold. They 
had no idea of working. 

I must tell you that the company who supplied 
the money to send out these colonists was called 
the London Company, and the greatest diffi- 
culties which the colonists met with were due to 
the fact that this company wanted, while in Eng- 
land, to rule over the colony in America, about 
which they knew little or nothing. They made 
many mistakes, and at last found that the only 
man who could help in the matter was Captain 
John Smith, whose story I will tell you in a few 
words, as you will learn it more fully when you 
come to study the History of Virginia. 

He was born in England, and lost his parents 
when he was very young. His father left him 
enough money for his support, but his guardians 
were very dishonest men. As they found he was 
of a roving temper, they gave him enough of 
his own money to tempt him to travel, and they 



i8 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



took the rest; while he went from one country to 
another, fought under various flags, meeting with 
many wonderful ad-ven-tures. At last he went 
back to England, determined to train himself fully 
for a soldier's life, and lived in the woods with 
his books, his horse, his eun and sword. He had 
seen men practise riding in tour-na-ments, so he 

used to fasten 
a rinof to the 
bouofh of a 
tree, then 
go to some 



rr^" 




distance, 
m o u n t his 
horse, and 
5^^ ride at full 

gallop, with 
pointed lance, which he aimed to put through 
the ring. When he became very expert in this, 
he knew that he could strike his enemy on horse- 
back. He then practised with his sword until 
his wrist became strong and his eye keen, and 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 19 

he hunted in the woods until he became an ex- 
pert marks-man, and then he knew he was ready 
for the game of war, and started out for new 
ad-ven-tures. It was after this that he determined 
to go to the New World with the ex-pe-di-tion 
which started from Blackwall on that wintry day 
in December, 1606. 

The London Company did not like Captain 
Smith, and it was only after they had made trial 
of others, and the colony had been reduced by 
bad man-age-ment, sickness, famine, and the mas- 
sa-cres by the Indians, to a very small number of 
men, that they chose him for its head. In the 
mean-time Smith had been travelling up and down 
the country, meeting with adventures. Many 
times was he taken prisoner by the Indians, and 
a pretty story is told of how he first became 
acquainted with the Indian maiden Po-ca-hon-tas, 
the daughter of King Pow-hat-tan, who was after- 
wards to be the pro-tec-tress of the colony at 
Jamestown. 

Smith and a party of men had gone in a boat 



20 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



up the Chick-a-hom-i-ny River, which empties into 
the James, to get corn and other food for the 
colony, when they were set upon by the Indians, 
his companions killed, and he himself taken pris- 
oner to King Powhattan, where he was kept some 
days. Pocahontas was about twelve years old, 

and used to spend 
a great deal of 
time \\ r i t h her 
father's prisoner, 
and he was very 
much amused with 
his little compan- 
ion. He made toys for her — doll-babies, per- 
haps, and other oddities which please little girls 
— until they became fast friends ; and more than 
once afterwards she saved his life when it was 
threatened by her father. 




QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER II 

What did they call the river they passed, and after whom? 

What had been its name? 

Tell about the king of the Indians. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 2 1 

What was the London Company? 

What mistake did they make? 

Who was Captain Smith? 

How was he treated by his guardians? 

Tell of his adventures when he left England. 

Tell of his return to England, and how he prepared himself to 
be a soldier. 

Where did he go when he left England the second time? 

What made the London Company choose Captain Smith for the 
head of the colony ? 

How did he employ himself? 

Who took him prisoner ? 

What acquaintance did he make while a prisoner ? 

How did he amuse Pocahontas ? 



CHAPTER III 

HIAWATHA 

Longfellow the poet has written a beautiful 
poem which is full of Indian legends, or stories, 
very much like fairy tales. In one of them he 
tells of the " Master of Life," which was, of 
course, their god, who, gathering the tribes to- 
gether, promises them that he will send them a 
prophet who will teach them everything that it is 



22 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

good for them to know. You will see that this is 
like the promise which was given so long ago, 
that Christ would come into the world to teach 
the people. After a while a little child was born, 
and his grandmother, old No-ko-mis, 

Nursed the little Hiawatha ; 
Rocked him in his linden cradle, 
Bedded soft in moss and rushes, 
Lulled him into slumber, singing, 
"Ewa-yea! My little owlet!" 



Many things Nokomis taught him 
Of the stars that shine in heaven ; 
Flaring far away to northward. 

At the door on summer evenings 
Sat the little Hiawatha ; 
Heard the whispering of the pine-trees, 
Heard the lapping of the water. 

Saw the firefly, . . . 
Flitting through the dusk of evening, 
With the twinkle of its candle 
Lighting up the brakes and bushes, 
And he sang the song of children, 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Sang the song Nokomis taught him : 
"Pretty little firefly, 
Little, flitting, white-fire insect, 
Light me with your little candle, 
Ere in sleep I close my eyelids ! " 

Saw the moon rise from the water 
Rippling, rounding from the water, 
Saw the flecks and shadows on it, 
Whispered, "What is that, Nokomis?" 
And the good Nokomis answered : 
" Once a warrior, very angry, 
Seized his grandmother, and threw her 
Up into the sky at midnight ; 
Right against the moon he threw her ; 
Tis her body that you see there." 

Saw the rainbow in the heaven, 

Whispered, " What is that, Nokomis ? " 
And the good Nokomis answered : 
" 'Tis the heaven of flowers you see there 
All the wild-flowers of the forest, 
All the lilies of the prairie, 
When on earth they fade and perish, 
Blossom in the heaven above us." 
When he heard the owl at midnight, 



23 



24 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Hooting, laughing in the forest, 
"What is that?" he cried in terror; 
And the good Nokomis answered : 
" That is but the owl and owlet, 
Talking in their native language, 
Talking, scolding to each other." 

Then the little Hiawatha 
Learned of every bird its language, 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How they built their nests in summer, 
Where they hid themselves in winter, 

Called them " Hiawatha's chickens." 

Of all beasts he learned the language, 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How the beavers built their lodges, 
Where the squirrels hid their acorns, 
How the reindeer ran so swiftly, 
Why the rabbit was so timid, 
Talked with them where'er he met them, 
Called them " Hiawatha's brothers." 

The whole story of Hiawatha is too long to tell 
you ; but he became, under the teachings of the 
Master of Life, a great, powerful, and good man, 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



25 



who was born to be a teacher of the people. He 

prepared for his work by fasting and praying. 

He married a beautiful Indian maiden, named 

Min-ne-ha-ha. 

When you are 

older, I hope 

you will read 

the whole 

story. 

The Indians 
believed in a 
god of their 
own, whose 
n a m e w a s 
Okee, and they 
kept an image 
of him, which 
in war they ^ 
often carried with them, and thought it would 
preserve them from danger. They thought that 
the thunder was his voice, and the lightning 
the flashing of his eyes. They also believed 




26 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

in a future world of happiness and misery, and, 
as they loved hunting better than any other em- 
ployment, their heaven they called " The Happy 
Hunting Ground," to which they believed they 
would go if they lived according to their idea 
of right. They also believed in a great fire in 
which they would burn eternally as a punishment. 

The Indians were very savage and cruel to their 
prisoners. They would pile wood around them, 
tie them to a stake, and dance about them as they 
saw their tortures. Even the little children were 
taught to torture prisoners. 

They were very brave, and would not allow any 
one to rule over them who was not brave. The 
reason they obeyed and respected Powhattan was 
because he was a man of great courage. Powhat- 
tan was a remarkable old man ; although he was a 
savage, he had a oreat idea of what was due to 
him as a king. He was very dignified, and in- 
sisted on having great respect paid to him. He 
had several homes where he lived at different 
seasons of the year. One was at the falls of the 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY ^7 

James River, where Richmond now stands, and 
the bower in which he lived was opposite three 
islands, and the spot is still called Powhattan 
after him. He was a tall, strong old man, clad in 
the skins of animals, moc-ca-sins on his feet, and 
feathers on his head. His throne was shaped 
somewhat like a bedstead. He had a great many 
wives, and a hundred bow-men, who kept guard 
over him when the white men came to see him. 
I once saw an Indian dance, which I will tell you 
about. The Indians were all painted until they 
looked horrible, with black and red splotches of 
paint all over their faces. The dances were called 
the Eao-le dance and the Raven dance. We 
were in a lone Indian house where the Indians 
had promised to dance for us. First came in 
about fifty women, with their "papooses" (babies) 
bound to boards, which they carried on their backs 
by means of straps which passed under their chins. 
When they came into the room, each one took 
her board and set it up against the wall; and it 
was very amusing to see the little dark babies in 



28 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



a row, laughing and crowing, and doing just as 
white babies do, only none of them cried; while 
the mothers squatted on the floor, and -each beat 
on something very like a tambourine,*singing at 
the top of her voice, " Hi-yai-ya, Hi-yai-ya ! " 
The painted warriors came tipping down the 
room, waving their arms like birds' wings, and 
singing "Hiyaiya!" with the women. They be- 
came more and more excited as they danced, 




rushing at one another in imitation of birds 
fighting, and leaping in the air in imitation of 
birds flying. The little babies on the boards 
winked and blinked at them, and laughed and 
crowed to show how pleased they were with the 
entertainment. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



20 



It has been impossible to fit questions to this chapter, so I sug- 
gest that the teachers make the children commit the poetry to 
memory, and each take a portion to recite, then tell of the Indian 
belief and the history of the bird dance. — The Author. 



CHAPTER IV 



POCAHONTAS 

The colony grew at Jamestown, in spite of the 
Indians. I cannot follow Captain Smith through 
all of his adventures. He and Powhattan had 
many dealings 
with each other. 
Pocahontas often 
came to James- 
town " with her 
wild train of In- 
dian boys and 
girls," as we are 
told, and they 
played about the 
market-place, like 




30 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

other children. She was devotedly attached to 
the English, and once, when she overheard her 
father laying a plan for the massacre of the 
colony at Jamestown, she started off in the night, 
alone, and making her way "through the dark 
woods, with the tears rolling down her sorrow- 
ful cheeks," as Captain Smith relates, she told 
him of the plot, and begged him not to send 
her back to her father, as he would kill her if 
he knew what she had done. The Indians 
came, as she had told him they would, but the 
colony were prepared, and so were saved. 

This lovely child, who was so often the guardian 
angel of the colony, must always be interesting to 
Virginians, and I will tell you in a few words the 
rest of her story. Captain Smith met with an ac- 
cident which obliged him to return to England, 
and Pocahontas never was as much at Jamestown 
after he left. She went to a friend on the Poto- 
mac River, who was named Jap-a-zaws. At this 
time Powhattan gave the colony so much trouble 
that the English thought if they could get Poca- 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 31 

hontas in their possession, they could force him 
to keep peace with them. So they gave Japazaws 
a brass kettle to pay him for delivering her into 
their hands. He did so, and she was taken back 
to Jamestown, where a young Englishman named 
Rolfe fell in love with her and she with him. 
The Indians were considered such an inferior peo- 
ple that Rolfe scarcely knew what to do, as such a 
marriage would be regarded as a sin in England. 
He wrote to the governor, Sir Thomas Dale, that 
he knew the Bible said that Christians must not 
marry " strange wives " who were heathen, but 
Pocahontas was willing to become a Christian. 
He said he loved her with all his heart, as she did 
him, and they wanted to marry each other. 

Sir Thomas gave his consent, and they were 
married in the old church at Jamestown. Before 
their marriage, Pocahontas was baptized under the 
name of Rebecca. Rolfe then took her to Eng- 
land, where she was called the Lady Rebecca, 
and treated like a princess. 

At the court of King James she met Captain 



32 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



Smith. She was then twenty-one years old, and 
he thirty-seven. It had been about six years since 
they parted, and they had a great deal to talk 
about ; but Captain Smith thought it would not 
be best for her to treat him as she used to do in 
Virginia, so he was very dignified, and called her 

Lady Rebecca, upon which 
she put her hands before 
her face and began to cry, 
and said it was unkind in 
him to treat her so coldly ; 
that she had called him 
father when he was in her 
country, and she would call 
him father. This was their last meeting. She 
had one child born in England. A year after 
her interview with Captain Smith, she and her 
husband were returning" to Virginia, and had 
gone down to take ship for the purpose, when 
she became suddenly ill and died. Her son 
returned to Virginia, and among his descendants 
are some of the best-known families in the State. 




STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



33 



Powhattan lived until after the death of Poca- 
hontas. He never would go to Jamestown after 
her marriage, but he preserved the peace between 
the Indians and the white 
men. In his last interview 
with Captain Smith, he said, 
" I have seen two generations 
of my people die ; not a man 
of them is alive now, except 
myself. I know the differ- 
ence between peace and war 
better than any man in my 
country. I have now grown 
old and must soon die. Why 
will you take by force what you may have quietly 
by love ? Why will you destroy us, who supply 
you with food ? What can you get by war ? I 
am not so simple as not to know that it is much 
better to eat good meat, live quietly with my 
wives and children, and be merry with the Eng- 
lish, than to run away from them, and to lie 
cold in the woods, and feed on acorns, roots, 




%jr* 



34 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

and such trash, and be so hunted that I can 
neither eat nor sleep. In these wars my people 
sit up watching, and if a twig breaks, they cry, 
'Here comes Captain Smith!' So I must end 
my miserable life. Take away your guns and 
swords, the cause of all our jealousy, or you may 
all die in the same manner." 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER IV 

Did the colony at Jamestown grow ? 

Who amongst the Indians was the best friend of the colony ? 

Tell how Pocahontas saved the colony. 

What happened to Captain Smith ? 

What effect did this have on Pocahontas ? 

Why did the English want to get possession of her ? 

How did they manage it ? 

Tell of Pocahontas' marriage. Finish her story. 

How did Powhattan behave to the colonists after this ? 

What did he say to Smith ? 



CHAPTER V 

WHAT THE COLONISTS FOUND IN VIRGINIA 

I do not suppose that Captain Smith had any 
great confidence in Powhattan's fine speeches, 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



35 



and probably watched him as closely after as 
before he made them. The secret of the whole 
matter was, that Powhattan, seeing that he could 
not conquer the English, thought it better to 
make peace with them. Powhattan died soon 
after. 

One day Captain Smith was out in his boat, 

and he saw some strange- 
looking fish with long 




CAPTAIN SMITH STUNG BY THE FISH 



qpmi, ^*m 



tails. He stuck his sword through one, and 
drawing it to him, took it in his hand. The 
fish twisted its long tail around, and stung him 



36 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

in the wrist. The whole arm immediately 
swelled and turned purple, and Captain Smith 
was so certain that he was going to die, that he 
picked out the place on the shore where he told 
his men to bury him ; but the swelling gradually 
disappeared and left no bad results. The fish was 
called a stingray, and in memory of the incident 
Smith called the place Stingray Point, the name 
it still bears. 

Captain Smith thoroughly explored the Chesa- 
peake Bay and all the rivers emptying into it. 
He went at least three thousand miles in an 
open boat, and made a map of the whole 
country. A bag of gun-powder exploded in his 
boat one day, which injured him so that he 
returned to England, where he was honored and 
esteemed. 

The king made him Admiral of Virginia, and 
he died in 1 63 1 , at the age of fifty-two. He 
was buried in St. Sepulchre's Church, London, 
and his crrave is under the church, in front of 
the chancel, and above it are two flat stones. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



37 



On one of them is carved his coat-of-arms, 
three Turks' heads, in memory of his fight with 
the Turks, in which he killed three of them ; 
and on the other stone these words are cut : 
" Here lies one 
conquered, that 
hath conquered 
kings." 

When the 
English came to 
this country, 
they saw for the 
first time corn 
growing, with 
which you are 
so familiar. It is called Indian corn, because 
it was first cultivated by the Indians. They 
also saw tobacco growing. When Columbus 
landed in the island of Cuba, he saw the Cuban 
Indians, each with a pipe in his mouth, smoking 
something which they afterwards knew to be 
tobacco. Sir Walter Raleigh came over here 




CAPTAIN SMITH 



38 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

and learned to smoke, and one day his man- 
ser-vant came in and found him with a fire 
coming out of his mouth, and threw a bucket 
of water over him, thinking he was on fire. 
Now the whole world smokes tobacco. I don't 
believe it has ever done any good to the world, 
however, and perhaps it is a pity it was ever 
discovered, for it has certainly done harm to 
some. The Virginians cultivated it in great 
quantities in Jamestown, and it grew so much 
finer and larger in ground in which nothing 1 
had ever been planted, that they used to cut 
down the trees to make new ground for the 
tobacco ; so the island was cleared. 

I must explain to you here, that at the time 
the English first went to Jamestown, it was a 
pen-in-su-la, but the water has washed away a 
part of it, and separated it from the main land, 
so it is now an island. There are no houses 
left there now, only a part of the wall of the 
old church where Pocahontas was married. A 
few years ago a lady, Mrs. Barney, bought 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 39 

the whole island, and presented that part of it 
where the Jamestown church stood, and the 
walls still stand, to the State of Virginia. 

Every year, on the 13th of May, which was 
the day that the colonists first landed at James- 
town, great numbers of Virginians, from all 
parts of the State, meet there in memory of that 
occasion. I was with them once, and found it 
very interesting ; and I hope you too, my little 
readers, will be able to go there some day and 
think of Captain Smith and Pocahontas, and the 
scenes which passed there three hundred years 
ago. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER V 

Did Captain Smith believe Powhattan ? 

What was the real reason that Powhattan wanted peace ? 

How did Stingray Point get its name ? 

What made Captain Smith return to England ? 

What honor did the king bestow upon him ? 

When did he die, and where was he buried ? 

What was carved on the two stones above his grave ? 

What new crops did the English find growing in America ? 

What did Columbus find where he first landed ? 

Tell the story about Sir Walter Raleigh. 

Has tobacco ever done any good in the world ? 



40 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

How was the island cleared ? 

What made Jamestown an island instead of a peninsula ? 

What is the present condition of Jamestown ? 

To whom does it belong? 

What happens every year on the 13th of May. 



CHAPTER VI 

bacon's rebellion 

For a great many years after the death of 
Captain Smith, everything progressed well at 
Jamestown, but the Indians were still the great 
trouble. There were those among them who 
remembered that the whole country was once 
their own, and we can scarcely wonder that they 
did not feel kindly to the people who had come 
amongst them and were gradually driving them 
from their hunting grounds. Every now and 
then there would be massacres of the English by 
the Indians, and wrongs of the Indians by the 
English, until feeling grew more and more bitter 
between the two races. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 4I 

There were some efforts made to preserve the 
peace and do what was right to the Indians. A 
large tract of land was set apart for them on the 
Chick-a-hom-i-ny and other rivers, and a part of 
this is still owned by a remnant of the tribe, who 
have never sold the land owned by their fore- 
fathers. But most of them sold their lands to the 
English and moved farther west, where they could 
get land for nothing. 

In the year 1676, Sir William Berkeley had been 
appointed Governor of Virginia by the King of 
England. He had already ruled over the colony 
for about thirty-three years. Most of that time 
he had been very popular, but he was a hot- 
tempered old man and devoted to the King of 
England. The Virginians, living in the great 
free country over here, began to feel that it 
was not right that they should have to obey a 
king three thousand miles away, and they rebelled 
against the orders that came through the gov- 
ernor. Governor Berkeley had a beautiful estate, 
called " Greenspring," near Jamestown, where he 



42 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



lived in great luxury. The Virginians did not 
object to that. They liked fine living themselves, 
and respected their governor all the more because 
he ate off a silver plate, and rode in fine carriages, 
and gave great dinners ; but they did not like his 
habit of forcing them to obey the King of Eng- 
land in everything. They complained, too, that 
he would not protect the families living up the 
river from the Indians, and so they determined 
that they would protect themselves. 

There was an Englishman having a fine estate 
in the neighborhood of where Richmond now 
stands, who was in many ways a very remarkable 
man, and just the one to make a great military 
leader. His name was Nathaniel Bacon. He 
was very brave and determined, and a fine pub- 
lic speaker. A man who speaks well can always 
make those who hear him think as he does. Sir 
William Berkeley showed great favor to Bacon for 
some time, making him a member of the " King's 
Council,'.' as it was called, because he thought that 
Bacon would take the part of the king against the 



44 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Virginians ; but he was mistaken in this. Bacon 
took the Virginia side, and so the Virginians 
made him their leader. One day Bacon heard 
that the Indians had attacked his plantation and 
killed his overseer and one of his servants. He 
called his friends together and made an excited 
speech, in which he spoke of the governor as the 
enemy of Virginia, who would not do anything 
to protect them from the Indians, and that he, 
Bacon, was ready to lead the people against the 
Indians. At this the men uttered a great shout, 
and declared that they would follow him. But 
first he sent to Governor Berkeley for a commis- 
sion to fight the Indians ; the governor refused, 
and so they marched off without any commission. 
They won a complete victory over the Indians, 
who were all killed or driven off, and Bacon came 
back in triumph. Governor Berkeley was greatly 
enraged when he heard what the Virginians had 
done. He issued a proc-la-ma-tion declaring Bacon 
and his men traitors to the kine, and eot together 
an army to attack them ; but when he set out, he 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 45 

found that the Virginians everywhere were on 
Bacon's side, so he marched back to Jamestown. 
This was a great triumph for Bacon, and the 
governor had to submit, and agree that new laws 
should be made ; and Bacon was appointed a 
member of the House of Burgesses, which was to 
meet at Jamestown to make the new laws. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER VI 

What was the great trouble the colonists had to encounter in 
Virginia? 

What made the Indians hard to deal with? 

Did the English try to do justice to them, and how? 

Who was Governor of Virginia in this year, 1676? 

What kind of a man was he? 

What made the Virginians dissatisfied ? 

Why did they object to Sir William Berkeley? 

Who was Nathaniel Bacon ? 

Describe him. 

Was the governor friendly to Bacon ? 

What made him change in his feeling? 

What made Bacon want to fight against the Indians? 

Tell what he said to the Virginians. 

What answer did they make? 

Tell of the quarrel between the governor and Bacon. 

How did it end? 



46 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER VII 

bacon's rebellion (continued) 

Bacon sailed down the James River in his 
boat, to take his seat in the House of Burgesses, 
and, when he landed, he was arrested by order 
of Governor Berkeley and taken before the 
King's Council to be tried. The old governor 
received him with a storm of rage ; but Bacon 
was as cool as he could be, and showed he 
did not care at all for the old man's an^er. He 
said that he knew it was against the law for 
him to £o against the Indians without a com- 
mission, and that he would promise not to do 
it again if the commission was given him. Berke- 
ley promised, but did not keep his word ; so 
Bacon left Jamestown, and went home and told 
his neighbors how matters stood. He said he 
was determined to have the commission, and they 
said that they would help him. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



47 



About four hundred planters joined him, and 
they marched down to Jamestown, and, going 
to the State House, Bacon sent word to Gover- 
nor Berkeley that he had come for his com- 
mission. The old governor, in a fury, rushed 
out, and, tearing open his ruffled shirt, cried : 
" Here, shoot me ! " Bacon bowed to him, and 
said that he did not want to hurt a hair of his 
head, or of any other man's ; that they wanted to 
save the lives of their wives and children from 
the Indians, and had come for the commission 
which he had so often promised them, and that 
they intended to have it before they left. There 
was an angry scene, but the governor was obliged 
to submit, and gave the commission, so Bacon 
led his men away very quietly. 

The governor said that they were defy- 
ing the king, who had made him governor, 
and that he would go to war about it with 
the Virginians. So he crossed York River to 
Gloucester County, and called upon his friends 
to join him to fight the rebels. But Bacon was 



48 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

as firm as he was, and raised an army and went 
to meet him. 

Berkeley fled across the Chesapeake Bay to 
Accomac County, from which place he sent to 
England for soldiers to fight the Virginians. 
Meantime Bacon heard that the Indians had 
risen again about Richmond, and he fought a 
bloody battle with them, killing them in such 
numbers that their blood ran down and made 
the whole stream red. It has been called Bloody 
Run ever since. This ended the trouble with 
the Indians in that part of the State. They 
never fought again. 

When Bacon returned, he found that Sir 
William Berkeley had collected a large army, 
and had again taken possession of Jamestown, 
and he hurried to meet him. On his way to 
Jamestown, he captured some of the wives of 
the men who were with Berkeley, not intending 
to do them any harm, but as protection against 
the guns of their enemy, who had so many more 
men and ships than he had. When they reached 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 49 

Jamestown, they commenced throwing up for-ti- 
fi-ca-tions. It is said that Bacon put a line of 
the captured ladies in front of the fortifica- 
tions, to keep the other side from firing their 
cannon until the breastworks were finished. 
The plan was successful, and for some reason 
Sir William Berkeley's men did not fight at all ; 
perhaps because they were uneasy about their 
wives. They ran away to their boats, and did 
not feel safe until they were far down the river. 
When Bacon and his men entered the city, 
they found it completely deserted ; and as they 
could not remain there, rather than allow the 
governor and his men to take it again, they 
burnt it to the ground. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER VII 

What happened when Bacon went to Jamestown ? 
Tell of his interview with the governor. 
Did he get the commission ? 
What course did Bacon take ? 
Did the planters join him ? 
Then what did they do ? 
4 



50 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

How did the governor behave ? 

How did Bacon answer him ? 

Did he get the commission ? 

What did the governor do ? 

What did Bacon do when he got the commission ? 

What did he find when he came back home ? 

What was his next move ? 

Do you think he was right to capture the ladies ? 

Give an account of the battle of Jamestown. 

Tell of the burning of the city. 



CHAPTER VIII 

BACON'S REBELLION (CONCLUDED) TOBACCO RE- 
BELLION 

Sir William Berkeley, having now no capital 
in which to orovern, returned to Accomac ; while 
Bacon retired to Gloucester, where he dismissed 
most of his followers, making them promise that 
they would return to him on the first news of 
Berkeley's advance from Accomac. But a most 
unexpected end came to this war. Bacon was 
taken very ill, and died in Gloucester County at 
the house of a Dr. Pate. This was a terrible blow 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 5 I 

to his followers. They had had such blind confi- 
dence in him that no one knew what to do without 
him, and there seems to have been no leader 
among his men who could fill his place. 

They buried Bacon's body secretly, and to this 
day no one knows the spot. No doubt, if Sir 
William Berkeley could have found it, he would 
have hung his dead body upon the gallows he 
intended for the brave soldier if he could have 
caught him. If Nathaniel Bacon had been suc- 
cessful, he would, perhaps, have been called the 
Father of his Country, just as Washington was 
a hundred years later, as he fought against the 
English for the same cause that Washington did. 

When Sir William Berkeley found that his en- 
emy was dead, he was greatly delighted. Bacon's 
men had all scattered to their homes, but he 
sent after them, and had them arrested. They 
were brought before him one by one, and each 
was hung after a pretended trial, although their 
friends entreated for their lives. His cruelty was 
so terrible that even the Kino; of England was 



52 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

disgusted with it, and sent men over to stop it. 
Governor Berkeley was hated for his cruelty. He 
had scarcely a friend in the whole country, and 
determined to go back to England ; but when he 
got there, he was so coldly received by the king 
and by the people — the king even refusing to see 
him — that he died of mortification. 

I told you this story in as few words as possible, 
leaving out many facts which are fully related in 
the History of Virginia. 

There was another rebellion in Virginia, about 
the year 1680, of which I must tell you. You will 
remember what I told you about the cultivation of 
tobacco. But what made it more valuable than 
even its use for smoking was, that it was used 
at one time as money by the colonists. Think 
of ladies going shopping with a wagon full of 
tobacco behind them, and purchasing a silk dress 
at so many pounds of tobacco a yard. When 
the planter in Virginia saw his tobacco putting 
up its leaves above the ground, he knew that it 
was so much money, and would cultivate nothing 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 53 

else. It was the same love of gain which now 
makes the people leave their homes and rush to 
the Klondike to dio; for g;old. 

So great was this desire for tobacco, that the 
rulers had to put an end to its being used as 
money, and made laws to force the planter to raise 
such crops as were necessary for food. Even after 
the custom of using tobacco as money was changed, 
it brought a great deal of wealth to the planters. 
Vessels would come from Eneland, and eo back 
loaded with tobacco. After Jamestown was burnt, 
there was no town at which they could load these 
vessels ; so in order to make the people build 
towns, a law was made, that certain places along 
the river should be used as depots for the 
tobacco. 

The people were very angry, as it was so much 
more convenient for them to load the vessels 
at their plantations, and they declared that they 
would not obey this law. Many of the planters 
cut up their whole crops rather than submit to the 
law. This raised such a storm that the govern- 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 55 

ment of Virginia had to appeal to the king, and 
at last a law was made that any planter who cut 
up his tobacco was to be hung. Six men were 
actually executed for it, but it had the effect of 
ending" the rebellion. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER VIII 

What did Sir William Berkeley do ? 
Where did Bacon go ? 
What put an end to the war ? 
Tell of Bacon's death and burial. 
Why did they hide his grave ? 

If Bacon had been successful, what would probably have hap- 
pened ? 

What course did the governor take ? 

What effect did his cruelty have in this country ? 

How was it viewed by the king and people of England ? 

Tell of Berkeley. 

What use was made of tobacco about 1680? 

Tell how the ladies went shopping. 

What was the effect on the planters ? 

What laws had to be made ? 

Where did the planters sell most of their tobacco ? 

How did they try to make the people build towns ? 

Did the people submit to this ? 

What was this rebellion called ? 

How was it stopped ? 



56 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER IX 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, I 732 

The next event which I have chosen for my 
story book occurred about fifty years after the 
tobacco rebellion. It was the birth, in Westmore- 
land County, of George Washington, who, in his 
life of sixty-seven years, had more influence over 

the history of the 
United States, 
and particularly 
of Virginia, than 
any other man 
who ever lived in 
it. 

He was born on 
the 2 2d of Febru- 




Washington's birthplace 



ary, 1732. His father's name was Augustine 
Washington, and his mother was Mary Ball, both 
Virginians. I think that a great deal of the 
honor that George Washington grained was due 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



57 



to the teachings of his father and mother. His 
father said to him once : " Truth, George, is the 
loveliest quality of youth. I would ride fifty 
miles, my son, to see the little boy whose heart 
was so honest and his lips so pure that I could 
depend upon every word he said." 

Mary, the mother of Washington, as she is 
called, was a very 
pious and in-tel-li- 
gent woman. She 
used to teach him 
to kneel beside 
her, nio-ht and 
morning, to ask 
God to take care 
of him and teach 
him to do his 
duty. George 
Washington listened to their teachings. No 
wonddr he erew to be the oreat and ^ood man 
he was. Many children in these days have as 
good and wise parents as he had, but they do 




WASHINGTON AND HIS MOTHER 



58 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

not attend to the lessons they give them, and so 
do not profit by them. 

George was very fond of hunting, and of 
out-of-door sports requiring bodily strength and 
skill, and so he grew tall and strong. It is said of 
him that he once threw a stone across the Rappa- 
hannock River at Fredericksburg. He was par- 
ticularly fond of military games, and at school 
the boys used to fight pretended battles between 
the French and Americans George always 
commanded the Americans. 

George's father removed from Westmoreland to 
Stafford County, and here George's childhood was 
passed. He lost his father when he was ten years 
old. When he was fourteen, like a great many 
boys, he wanted to be a sailor ; and his brother 
Lawrence, who was a great deal older than he 
was, and a rich man, had him appointed to a mid- 
shipman's place in the English navy. George 
was delighted, and had a fine, new uniform made, 
of which he was very proud. His trunk was all 
packed, and he was to start immediately ; but when 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 59 

he went in to tell his mother good-by, although 
she had given her consent to his going, like many 
another mother, at the idea of parting with her 
boy, she covered her face with her hands and burst 
into tears. George said at once, if it so distressed 
her he would not go ; so he took off his fine uni- 
form, resigned his commission, and stayed at home 
to take care of his mother. If it had not been for 
this love for her, it is possible we should never 
have heard of George Washington ; he would not 
have fought the battles of the American Revo- 
lution, nor been called the Father of his Country. 
Instead of going to sea, he went back to school, 
where he studied hard, until he was sixteen 
years old. 

Lawrence Washington, the brother of George, 
lived at Mount Vernon, a beautiful old place on 
the Potomac River, below the city of Washing- 
ton, which all Virginians know and love, for it was 
afterwards the home of their great hero, and where 
he chose to be buried. It was years after sold by 
the heirs of Washington to the Mount Vernon 



60 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Association, which is made up of ladies from 
every State in the Union, who keep the place in 
order. Each State has a room, which they have 
furnished with old furniture such as they used at 
that time. 

The Virginia room has in it a good deal of the 
furniture that belonged to Washington himself, 
which makes it very interesting. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER IX 

When and where was George Washington born ? 

What were the names of his father and mother ? 

What did his father say to George about truth ? 

What kind of woman was his mother ? 

What kind of sports did he most enjoy when a boy ? 

What was the effect upon his manhood ? 

What profession did George choose, and why did he give it up ? 

What was the name of George's elder brother ? 

Where did he live ? 

What do you know about Mount Vernon ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 6l 



CHAPTER X 

LORD FAIRFAX, I 750 

It was when George was at Mount Vernon, 
being sixteen years old, that he met a singular old 
nobleman, who had a great deal to do with his 
fortunes. Lord Thomas Fairfax was born in Eng-- 
land, and when he was a very young man he went 
from his home in the country to live in the city 
of London, where he moved in the most fashion- 
able society, and chose for his intimate friends 
lit-er-a-ry men, which means men who read a great 
deal and write books. Here he met with a young 
lady, to whom he became much attached, and they 
were engaged to be married ; but she deserted him 
for a richer man, and he was so distressed that he 
determined he would never marry any one, and 
left London, and after a while came to Virginia, 
where his mother's father, Lord Culpeper, had a 
great deal of land granted him by the king. 



62 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

At the time of the "Tobacco Rebellion," Lord 
Culpeper was Governor of Virginia. While he 
was living in Virginia, he found how very rich the 
land was between the Potomac and the Rappa- 
hannock Rivers. This is called the Northern 
Neck of Virginia. It was only partly settled at 
this time, and when Lord Culpeper went back to 
England, he persuaded the king to give him all 
this land. After receiving such a rich grant, he 
appointed a deputy to do his work in Virginia, 
while he went back to England and enjoyed him- 
self. 

Lord Culpeper's daughter inherited his rich 
estate, and Lord Thomas Fairfax was her son. 
His cousin William Fairfax lived near Mount 
Vernon, at a beautiful place called Belvoir, and it 
was there that George Washington met Lord 
Fairfax while visiting his brother Lawrence, 
whose wife was a daughter of William Fairfax. 
The old Englishman, Lord Fairfax, became very 
fond of George, who was a bright young fellow 
with a great desire to go to work for himself, and 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



63 



Lord Fairfax determined to employ him to 
survey — that is, to measure — and lay out bis lands 
in the western part of Virginia. 

He proposed this plan to George, who eagerly 
consented. He was just sixteen, and thought it 
would be a fine thine to be his own master, and 
to ride about the country, which was full of In- 
dians and wild animals, with plenty of hunting 
to do by way of recrea- 
tion. He had for his 
companion George Wil- 
liam Fairfax, who was a 
son of the owner of Bel- 
voir. The two friends 
started off in high spirits. 
Their course lay over the 
Blue Ridge, which they 
crossed at Ashby's Gap, 
at the foot of which runs 

the Shen-an-do-ah River, which they crossed, and 
made their way to Greenway Court, belonging to 
Lord Fairfax. This house stood until a few years 




ASHBY S GAP 



64 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

a^o, when it was torn down. It was a house with 
broad stone gables, and a roof sloping down over 
a wide porch in front. On the top were two bells 
with which they used to give the alarm to the 
settlers when the Indians approached them. A 
mile or two away was erected a white post with 
an arm pointing to show the way to Greenway 
Court. One stands there to-day, and around it 
is built the village of White Post, which takes 
its name from it. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER X 

What was the name of the nobleman whom George Washington 
met at Mount Vernon ? 
Tell his story. 
Tell Lord Culpeper's story. 

What was the name of William Fairfax's home ? 
Tell of Lord Fairfax's offer to George. 
Who was to survey with him ? 
Tell of their journey and visit to Greenway Court. 
How did the village of White Post get its name ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



65 




CHAPTER XI 



SURVEYING 



The young surveyors measured and laid out 
all of the land 
on the Shen-an- 
do-ah River in 
the neighborhood 
of Greenway 
Court, and after 
that they went 
farther west, until 
they got to that 
part of the 
country where 
there were very george Washington surveying 




66 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

few white people. It was the first time they had 
ever met with Indians. 

I must tell you of a custom belonging to the 
Indian nations. When they capture a person, 
they scalp him, which is done by making a deep 
cut all the way around the top of the head, 
beginning at the forehead ; then, taking hold 
of the hair, they tear the whole skin of the head 
off. This is very often done before the victim 
is dead. The warrior then attaches the scalp 
to his belt, and the more scalps he has, the 
more he is thought of by his people. They 
have a dance which they call the " Scalp 
dance." 

The young surveyors learned here to endure 
great hardships. George wrote to one of his 
friends : "I have not slept over three or four 
nights in a bed ; after walking a eood deal all 
day, I have lain down before the fire, on a bit 
of straw or fodder, or a bear-skin, with man, 
wife, and children, like dogs and cats ; and happy 
is he who gets the berth nearest the lire." 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 67 

In the spring the two boys returned to Green- 
way Court, and from there went to Belvoir, where 
they told old Lord Fairfax what they had done, 
and he was highly pleased with them. He now 
knew, for the first time, how large and valuable 
his property was, as the boys had done their 
work of surveying it very thoroughly. 

You would probably like to know what Lord 
Fairfax paid for this work. He was a very rich 
man, and for those days he was also very liberal. 
He gave them three dollars and a half a day 
when they were only riding round, and seven 
when they were regularly surveying. That was 
a good deal of money for boys of sixteen to 
make. No doubt George was very much de- 
lighted ; so was old Lord Fairfax, who directly 
after went to Greenway Court, and there spent 
the rest of his life. He died just at the close 
of the Revolutionary War. He was an English- 
man by birth, and always continued loyal to 
that government. 

We have an account of his last days. He was 



68 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



taken very ill at Winchester, and one day while 
he was ill he heard a °reat noise of shouting 
and cheering in the street. He asked his old 
servant Joe what it meant ; he answered that 







GREEN WAY COURT 



Lord Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown 
to General Washington. The old man groaned 
and said : "Take me to bed, Joe; it is time for 
me to die." He could not bear to think that 
the young man he had helped on in life had 
been the instrument used for breaking up the 
English government in America. He died soon 
afterwards, and his body rests under the church 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 69 

at Winchester, and a marble tablet is erected to 
his memory on the walls of that church. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XI 

What was the first work of the young surveyors ? 

Where did they go from Green way Court ? 

Tell of the brutal custom that prevailed amongst the Indians. 

What was George's account of their life? 

Tell of the close of their expedition. 

What did Lord Fairfax pay them for their work ? 

Give an account of Lord Fairfax's last days. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND 

The first wars in which George Washington 
engaged were those between the French and 
English, arising from disputes about their boun- 
daries in the west. The English claimed to be 
the first discoverers of the continent of America, 
or that part of it stretching from Canada on the 
north to the southern border of North Carolina 
on the south, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific 



70 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

in breadth, all of which they named Virginia. 
Now they had no idea of the extent of this claim, 
because they thought the continent was very 
narrow, but the grant from the king was for the 
whole of it. The French in Canada disputed this 
claim. They had sent their missionaries down 
the Mississippi River, past the mouth of the 
Ohio, and they said they had a right to all the 
lands lying upon those rivers ; and when Din- 
widdie was governor of Virginia the news came 
that the French were building their forts along 
the Ohio River. Governor Dinwiddie deter- 
mined to send a message to the French com- 
mander, to the effect that all of the land had 
belonged to England long before the French 
missionaries had come down the Mississippi, and 
that they would not be permitted to build their 
forts there. 

Then the difficulty arose as to who would be 
the messenger, when George Washington, now 
twenty-one years of age, offered to go. He was 
pretty well known by this time, as at nineteen he 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 7 I 

had been made adjutant-general of the Army of 
Virginia under Colonel Fry, the commander, and 
he was known to have travelled in the west while 
surveying the lands of Lord Fairfax ; so Governor 
Dinwiddie accepted his offer, and gave him his 
commission at once, and on the very day he 
received it, Washington started on his journey. 
At Winchester his party were waiting for him ; it 
consisted of three white hunters, two friendly 
Indians, and a woodsman whose name was Gist. 
This occurred in the month of November, 1753, 
and the weather was very cold. 

They had with them some small tents packed 
on horses. They set forward and reached the 
Mo-non-£a-he-la River. Washington's desire was 
to £0 to an Indian village called Loo;stown, about 
where Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, now stands ; so 
they got some canoes and packed their baggage 
in them, and placed them in charge of two men, 
while the rest followed along the bank of the 
river. At last they reached Logstown and found 
the half-king, whose name was Ta-na-char-is-son. 



72 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



Washington had a long talk with him, and suc- 
ceeded in making him promise not to have any- 
thing to do with the French. He told Washing- 
ton that the French commander was at a fort near 
Lake Erie, and if he wished to visit him, he would 
eo with him. Washington agreed ; and after a 
long journey in freezing weather, they reached 
the fort. The commander was an old French 

officer whose 

name was St. 

Pierre. He 

was very po- 

ite, making low 

bows and paying 

compliments. 

Washington hand- 

e d to him the 

letter from Din- 

widdie. He kept 

Washington waiting for several days, on one 

excuse or another, but Washington knew that 

the cunning old man was trying to persuade 




WASHINGTON AND ST. PIERRE 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 73 

Ta-na-char-is-son to remain friendly to the French ; 
so he told St. Pierre what he had found out. 
The Frenchman told him he was mistaken, 
but he gave him the letter to Governor Din- 
widdle, in which he informed him that he would 
forward his letter to the commander in Canada ; 
but as to giving up the country he had been com- 
manded to hold, he could not and would not do 
anything of the kind. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XII 

What were the first wars in which Washington fought? 

What caused the war between the French and the English? 

What right had the English to claim such a large tract of land? 

Did they know how much they were claiming? 

On what grounds did the French claim the country? 

What news did the Governor of Virginia hear? 

What steps did he take? 

Whom did he choose as messenger? 

What rank did Washington hold in the army? 

Where did he find his party? 

Tell who went with him. 

What baggage did they have ? 

Tell of the journey. 

What was the name of the Indian half-king? 

Tell of his conversation with Washington. 



74 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Tell of their journey to the fort on Lake Erie. 

How did the commander behave to Washington? 

What plans had he? 

Did Washington find him out? 

What answer did St. Pierre make to the governor's letter ? 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE JOURNEY HOME 

The French commander was both polite and 
cunning to the last. He furnished Washington 
with plenty of canoes and provisions for the jour- 
ney, but never stopped trying to persuade Tana- 
charisson to leave the English for the service of 
the French ; but in this he failed. Washington 
had won the half-king completely, and he never 
had any reason to doubt him. 

The baggage was all packed in the canoes, and 
the horses followed on the bank. The way home 
was by French Creek, which was full of floating 
ice, and their canoes were almost battered to 
pieces. At one time they had to take the 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 75 

canoes on their backs, and carry them for a quar- 
ter of a mile before they could launch them again. 
At last they reached the spot where they parted 
with Tanacharisson, and Washington pushed on 
to Virginia, anxious to make the journey before 
the winter was further advanced. They found 
their progress so slow, and the horses stumbled 
and fell so on the ice, that Washington came 
to the conclusion that he would never reach 
Virginia in that fashion ; so Gist and himself 
packed their provisions and papers in knap-sacks, 
which they strapped on their backs, over their 
good, stout overcoats, and left the other men in 
charge of the horses, with orders to follow as soon 
as they could. Perhaps this was the most perilous 
experience of Washington's whole life. Himself 
and his companion were in the midst of the 
forest filled with Indians hostile to the English. 
It was now the middle of winter, and intensely 
cold ; but they pushed on over frozen streams and 
snow-clad mountains. They lived on the food that 
they had in their knapsacks, and at last reached 



76 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

a town which bore the name of Murdering- 
town. Here they encountered a band of Indians, 
who offered to guide them through the wilderness. 
Mr. Gist, who, having always lived in the woods, 
knew Indians well, advised Washington not to 
have anything to do with these ; but, in spite of 
him, Washington engaged one of them as a 
guide, and they pushed forward. They, however, 
watched their guide very closely, and when he 
offered to carry Washington's gun for him, they 
felt very sure that he was false to them. 

Once, when night was drawing on, and they 
were looking for a place to build a camp-fire, the 
Indian advised them not to do it, as there were 
unfriendly tribes in the neighborhood ; but said 
that his cabin was a short distance ahead, and if 
they would go with him to it, they would certainly 
be safe. They went on with him, but still con- 
tinued to watch him. At one point he was walk- 
ing about twenty yards ahead of them, when he 
turned and fired his gun directly at Washington. 
The bullet missed its aim, and the Indian darted 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



77 



behind a tree. Washington pursued him, and 
dragged him out, and Mr. Gist would have killed 
him, but 



Washington 
w o u 1 d not 
agree, and 
let him es- 
cape, which 







m> 



WASHINGTON AND THE INDIAN GUIDE 



I think was 
not wise. 
His treach- 
ery deserved 
death. 

When they reached the Alleghany River, they 
found it frozen for about fifty yards from the shore, 
and the channel, in the middle, full of drifting ice. 
They determined to make a raft, which they did 
by cutting down trees and binding the trunks 
together with grapevines. This raft with great 
difficulty they pushed into the current, which was 
so swift that they lost all control over it. At last 
it was dashed against an island, upon which they 



78 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

took refuge, and where they remained all night. 
When the morning came, they saw the drifting ice 
had made a pathway to the shore. In this terri- 
ble experience Gist had his hands and feet frozen, 
and suffered intensely ; but their troubles were 
soon over. They reached the house of a trader 
whom they knew, and he took care of them and 
supplied all their wants. About two weeks after- 
wards, Washington reached Williamsburg and de- 
livered St. Pierre's letter to Governor Dinwiddie. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XIII 

How did St. Pierre help them on their journey home ? 

Tell of their journey. 

What did they have to do at last to get along ? 

What were the dangers of the way ? 

Whom did they meet at Murderingtown ? 

Tell of the Indian guide. 

What was the end of the adventure ? 

How did they cross the Alleghany (Al-le-ga-ny) River ? 

What became of their raft ? 

How did they reach land at last ? 

Tell of the end of the journey. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 79 



CHAPTER XIV 

WAR WITH FRANCE 

The letter from St. Pierre ended in a dec-la-ra- 
tion of war with France, and Washington, who 
had gained a great reputation by his expedition, 
was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Ameri- 
can forces. He marched to Will's Creek, where 
Cumberland now stands, and there he heard that 
some Virginians had gone to build a fort at the 
forks of the Ohio River, and had been attacked 
by the French and Indians, who had captured 
them, and the French were now on their way 
to meet his command. One dark night, 
under the guidance of some friendly Indians, 
Washington advanced to meet them, succeeded 
in surprising their encampment, killed their 
commander and others, and the rest surren- 
dered. Soon after this, Colonel Fry, the com- 
mander of the American forces, died, and Wash- 
ington was promoted to the full command. 



80 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

At the same time two regiments arrived to 
reenforce him, and he found himself at the 
head of about four hundred men. These he 
collected at Great Meadows. He afterwards 
built a small fort, called Fort Necessity, in 
which he placed the larger part of his force, 
leaving a few men to hold Great Meadows ; his 
object being to attack the French at Fort Du- 
quesne (Du-kane). He was joined on his way 
by his two old friends, Gist and Tanacharis- 
son, whom you may know he was glad to see. 
But here, I am sorry to say, the French got the 
better of our hero. Tanacharisson, with some 
Indians, heard that the French were advancing, 
and went out to see about it ; but the French 
hid themselves behind the rocks and in the 
hirti crass, and while the Indians thought there 
were only about fifty of them, there were really 
about nine hundred, twice as many as Washing- 
ton had in his command. The Americans fought 
bravely, but had too few men to gain the victory. 
The French called upon them to surrender; they 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 8l 

refused, and again fought from ten in the morn- 
ing; until nip-ht. 

Washington next told the French that he would 
surrender the fort to them, with the cannon, 
if they would permit him to march out with 
his men fully armed and their baggage, and 
promise not to attack them during their retreat 
into Virginia. This pleased the French very 
much ; they only wanted to be rid of them, 
and to be permitted to hold the land along 
the Ohio, so Washington and his men marched 
away with sad hearts. 

The eovernor and the House of Burp-esses 
approved of his conduct in having managed to 
save the lives of his men, for they knew that 
defeat must come sometimes to armies. 

When they heard in England of all these 
events, the British o-overnment determined to 
send out General Braddock with an army of 
Englishmen, and felt sure that he would make 
short work of these savages in the forests of 
America. General Braddock, who thought a 



82 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

great deal of himself, as well as of his men, 
imagined that he had only to show himself and 
conquer. He talked a great deal about it, and 
was warned that fighting in Europe and fighting 
the Indians in America were two very different 
things ; but he would take no advice. He invited 
Washington, who had resigned the command 
of the Virginia troops, to join him as one of 
his volunteer aides. Washington accepted the 
position, and joined • Braddock at Alexandria, 
then called " Bellhaven." The unfortunate defeat 
of Braddock you will find told so fully else- 
where, that I shall not repeat it here. I shall 
only say that it was a terrible disaster to the 
English cause, as it left the French in full 
possession of the land along the Ohio. 

It may be interesting to you to hear of the 
last moments of General Braddock. He was 
mortally wounded on the battle-field, but lived 
for several days. They carried him from the 
field in a liofht waeon, the movement of which 
became so painful to him that he could not 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



83 



bear it. He wore an immense silk sash, which 
was the fashion for officers in those; days, and 
tying the ends of this sash to the saddles of 







F^W 






/* 



BRADDOCK'S DEATH 

two horses, the soldiers made a hammock of it, 
in which they placed him. This relieved him 
very much, and here he died. He was buried 
in the dead of niefht, under the road over which 
the soldiers tramped, and his grave was not dis- 
covered for many years after. It is an interest- 
ing fact that the sash is still in existence, and in 
possession of a lady whom I know very well. 



84 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XIV 

How did the letter from St. Pierre affect the Virginians ? 
What rank did Washington have ? 
What did they hear at Will's Creek ? 
What of the first fight? 
Why was Washington promoted ? 
How many men did he have ? 
What fort did he build ? 
What old friends joined him ? 
What misfortune did he meet with ? 
How did he save his men ? 

Did the governor approve of what he had done ? 
What did the English government do when they heard of this ? 
What sort of a man was General Braddock ? 

What was the difference between fighting in Europe and 
America? 

How did the battle end ? 

Tell of General Braddock's death. 

What about his sash ? 



CHAPTER XV 

WILLIAMSBURG, I 774 

A hundred years had now passed since Bacon's 
Rebellion. A great many people had come to 
Virginia from England and other countries ; be- 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 85 

sides, a great many children had been born in the 
country, and so were Virginians by birth. The 
capital was now at Williamsburg, where the 
young men of Virginia, who used to have to go 
to England to be taught, were educated. The 
country about Jamestown, where the colonists 
first settled, had become so full of people that a 
great many of them went to the western part of 
the State, where they could get lands for nothing. 
But the richest part of the State was clown on 
the peninsula about the capital. The city of Nor- 
folk had been built, and from there the vessels 
came and went between England and America, 
carrying trade from one country to the other, and 
in Williamsburg there was a great deal of wealth, 
and there were fine carriages rolling in the streets 
all the time. 

Lord Dunmore had come to Virginia in 1772. 
He was very angry when he found the people so 
rebellious. He took no pains to make friends 
with them. He lived in the " Palace," which was 
a fine, large house, built for the governor, in the 



86 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

middle of the city, and stood in a handsome park 
of three hundred and seventy acres. When balls 
were given at the " Palace," colored lamps were 
hune to the bougdis of the magnificent old trees ; 
but Governor Dunmore did not give many balls. 
He wanted to see as little of the Virginians 
as possible ; but when Lady Dunmore and his 
daughter came to join him at Williamsburg, two 
years later, the House of Burgesses determined 
to try and make friends with the governor by 
giving them a grand ball at the " Palace." Lady 
Dunmore and her daughter were very different 
from Lord Dunmore. They were very friendly 
to the Virginians, and every one liked them. 
When they came to Williamsburg the whole 
city was illuminated as they drove through in 
their beautiful coach. 

Just about this time the English were trying to 
make the people of Boston pay unjust taxes, the 
same as they were doing in Virginia, and they were 
equally resolved not to pay them ; and when Eng- 
land sent a shipload of tea to Boston, a great many 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 87 

Bostonians disguised themselves as Indians, and 
went on board the ship and threw all the tea into 
the water. Then England made a law that the port 
of Boston should be closed because they had re- 
fused to pay the tax. Virginia and Mas-sa-chu-setts 
had a crreat deal of love for each other at that 
time, and felt in the same way about the govern- 
ment of England. When Virginians heard how 
Boston had been treated, they were very indignant, 
and determined to show the English orovernment 
that they approved of what Boston had done ; so 
the House of Burgesses made a law that the first 
day of June should be passed as a day of fasting 
and prayer, this being the day that the port of 
Boston was ordered to be closed. This was a 
very brave thing for the Burgesses to do, because 
they knew very well that it would make George 
the Third, the King of England, very angry, and 
that they might expect the same sort of punish- 
ment he was giving to the Bostonians. But they 
did not care for that. They knew that things 
must go from bad to worse until they fought with 



88 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 




SCENE IN THE HOUSE <>K I'.rRCFSSF.S 



England and gained their independence, and they 
felt that the sooner the struggle came the better. 
It was somewhat like a little boy daring a big boy 
to come on and fight him ; but the little boy, which 
was America, did not feel at all afraid of the big 
boy, which was England, in spite of his big ships 
and armies. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 89 

The House of Burgesses, you know, was like 
our Legislature of these days. Virginians elected 
by the people met to make laws for the good of 
the State, and to talk about matters in the interest 
of the people. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XV 

What changes had taken place in the hundred years since Bacon's 
Rebellion ? 

What seaport had been built ? 

Who was made governor in 1772, and what kind of man was he ? 

Describe the " Palace." 

How did the House of Burgesses try to make friends with the 
governor ? 

What news came from Boston ? 

How did the Virginians feel about it ? 

What did the House of Burgesses do ? 

Why was this a brave thing to do ? 

What was the House of Burgesses ? 



CHAPTER XVI 

LORD DUNMORE 

From the time the brave Burgesses made the 
law expressing sympathy with Boston, \\ illiams- 



90 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

burg was in a great commotion. People were 
coming in from the country in their handsome 
coaches, men talked eagerly on the streets ; and 
if we had been in Williamsburg at the time, and 
had gone into the capitol, we should have seen 
a fine sight. 

The Burgesses dressed in the fashion of 
the day, with powdered heads, long waistcoats 
covered with embroidery, queer-looking coats, 
ruffled shirts, knee-breeches not unlike those 
which the boys wear now, and low shoes with 
buckles on them. The dress was very becoming, 
and they were a fine-looking body of men, very 
grave and dignified ; for they felt the danger to 
their country in the law they had made. Among 
them were some of the most distinguished men 
this country has ever known. There was Patrick 
Henry, who had risen, by his genius for speak- 
ing, from a plain little country boy to the greatest 
orator in the world ; and who, in the midst of his 
handsomely-dressed companions, stood with un- 
powdered hair, yarn stockings, and coarse shoes. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



91 



But what difference did that make ? They lis- 
tened to his words and never thought of his dress. 
The finely dressed members of the House laughed 
openly as the coarsely dressed figure presented 
himself, but when he began to speak they did 
not feel like laughing. His eye brightened; his 
slouching figure straightened ; and his voice, when 
he spoke of Virginia^ was as sweet as music. 
Every eye turned to him, and all knew that what 
he said was true, and that unless they resisted Eng- 
land, Virginians would be her slaves. They had 
not realized their danger until they heard him tell 
of it. They had so long obeyed the King of 
England that it had become as natural as living. 
Once when he spoke plainly of the king as a ty- 
rant, some called out, " Treason ! " He finished his 
sentence, and added : "If this be treason, make 
the best of it." He it was who said : " Give me 
liberty, or give me death," and he meant it. 

There was George Mason, who afterwards 
wrote a celebrated paper which was called the 
Virginia Declaration of Rights. There was 



92 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Thomas Jefferson, who afterwards wrote the 
Declaration of Independence for the United 
States of America ; and many others whom Vir- 
ginia honors. 

Prominent among all these, we must not forget 
to observe a tall man who looks like a soldier. 
You have seen his face many times, for it is 
Colonel George Washington, who fought the 
wars with the French and Indians, and read the 
burial service over poor General Braddock. He 
is married now and lives at Mount Vernon, and 
every American knows and honors him. Sud- 
denly there is a stir at the door. It is a mes- 
senger from the governor, who enters and delivers 
a paper to the speaker. The governor orders 
them to meet in the Council-chamber, which is in 
the capitol, to receive a com-mu-ni-ca-tion from 
him. The speaker announces the order to the 
House. They all rise and follow him to the 
Council-chamber. 

They find Lord Dunmore, elegantly dressed, 
seated in the midst of his Council. He might 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 93 

have been a king receiving his subjects. He 
makes a stiff bow to the Burgesses, and says : 
"Mr. Speaker and the House of Burgesses, I have 
in my hand a paper, published by order of your 
House, written in such terms as reflect highly 
upon His Majesty and the Parliament of Great 
Britain, which makes it necessary to dissolve 
you." He makes another stiff bow, which they 
return, and they leave the room. 

It was in this way that the governor could 
break up a meeting when the members did any- 
thing to displease the king. They could no 
longer sit as a House of Burgesses, but they 
went to the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, 
where they talked over the whole affair, and 
said the king was treating Virginia as badly as 
he had treated Massachusetts ; and they deter- 
mined still to keep the day of fasting and prayer, 
according to the law they had made. 

You will remember that the next evening the 
grand ball was to be given at the capitol to Lady 
Dunmore and her daughters. The invitations 



94 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

had been issued before this rumpus, and, like the 
Virginia gentlemen they were, they must be ready 
to receive their guests. The night of the 27th 
there was a great blaze of light at the capitol, 
and the crowd saw carriage after carriage drive 
up to the door, and all the wealth and grace and 
beauty of Virginia poured into the doors of the 
House of Burgesses to do honor to the orovernor, 
who was their greatest enemy, and whom they 
hated with a cordial hatred. He and his family 
entered, superbly dressed, and were received with 
the most dignified politeness by the Burgesses. 
Lord Dunmore looked glum, but his wife and 
daughters were very gay, and so the ball passed 
off brilliantly. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XVI 

How did the Virginians feel about what the Burgesses had done? 

How did the Burgesses dress? 

Tell about Patrick Henry. 

What did George Mason write? 

What did Thomas Jefferson write? 

What old acquaintance do you see? 



g6 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

What message came to them ? 
What did the governor do? 
What did the Burgesses do? 
Did they give the ball? 
Tell about it. 



CHAPTER XVII 



TROUBLES IN THE WEST 



Lord Dunmore's career after this was as 
wicked as it could be. He was even accused of 
encouraging the Indians to fight against and 
massacre the whites, in order to prevent the 
Virginians from rising against the English. At 
last he became so hateful to the people of Vir- 
ginia, that he was obliged to fly, and take refuge 
on an English vessel. He afterwards burned 
Norfolk to the ground, and sailing up and down 
the coast, where he did not dare to land; he 
carried fire and sword with him. All this is so 
fully told elsewhere that we will pass it over, 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 97 

and give you a chapter which I think will interest 
the boy readers, at least. 

In the western part of Virginia, near the Ohio 
River, as I told you, a great many of the settlers 
from the East had taken possession of the land 
there, and were constantly brought in contact 
with the Indians, and even the boys became 
very expert in defending themselves from them. 
On the east side of the Ohio River, there were 
two little boys named John and Henry John- 
son ; one thirteen, and the other eleven. They 
had been sent out into the woods to hunt for 
cows. They saw two men approaching them, but 
did not know, until they were very close to them, 
that they were Indians. The boys were taken 
prisoners, and when nightfall came on, the 
Indians halted by the side of a spring, where 
they made a fire, cooked some food, and pre- 
pared for repose. Henry, the youngest of the 
two boys, had pretended to the Indians that he 
was delighted to be taken prisoner, as his father 
was a very hard master, he said, and he had 



98 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

always wanted to be an Indian; and so he be- 
came quite intimate with one of them. 

After they had finished their supper, and the 
fire was covered up, the boys' hands were tied, 
and they were made to lie down together. The 
Indians then put a strap across the two, the 
Indians lying on the ends of the strap. They 
slept very heavily, but the boys lay awake, hoping 
for a chance of escape. In the middle of the 
night, one of the Indians seized John, the eldest, 
and turned over with him, releasing the strap 
which had been over them. John easily crept 
away from him, and succeeded in getting his 
hands loose. He then went to Henry, and 
got him away from between the Indians. The 
two boys then proceeded with their work. 

John got one of the rifles belonging to the 
Indians, and fixed it on a log, with the muzzle 
close to the Indian's head. He then placed 
Henry's hand on the trigger of the gun, and 
told him to pull the trigger, as soon as he saw 
him strike the other Indian. He had some 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HI- I ORY 



99 



difficulty in making Henry agree to this, as he 
only wanted to run away and get home ; but 
John said: "We must kill these Indians before 
we go." Henry agreed ; and John, seizing an 




JOHN AND HENRY JOHNSON 

Indian tom-a-hawk, struck with all his force. 
The first blow did not kill his foe, but he struck 
again and again, until, as he said, " He lay 
stiff and began to quiver." At John's first blow 
with the tomahawk, Henry pulled the trio-o-er 



IOO STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

but only succeeded in shooting off the lower 
jaw of his victim, who flounced around and 
yelled in the most terrifying way. The boys 
lost no time in running off to the fort, which 
was three miles away. They reached it a little 
before daybreak ; and just as they arrived there, 
heard their mother, who had come to the fort 
to find them, exclaim : " Poor little fellows ! They 
are either killed or taken prisoners." Little 
Henry cried * out : " No, mother, we are here 
yet." The men at the fort would not believe 
the story of the two children until they went 
with them to the spot, and found the body of 
the dead Indian ; the other having crawled away, 
his skeleton was found years later. 

An Indian afterwards asked what had become 
of the boys. He was told they lived in the 
same place. The Indian replied: "You have not 
done right ; you should make kings of those 
boys." 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY IOI 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XVII 

What was Lord Dunmore's career after this ? 

How had West Virginia been settled ? 

What happened to the Johnson boys ? 

What did Henry do ? 

How did the Indians prepare for the night ? 

What chance of escape came to John ? 

Tell of their escape. 

What happened at the fort ? 

What did an Indian afterwards say of these boys ? 



CHAPTER XVIII 

ATTACK ON FORT WHEELING 

In the town where I have always lived, Win- 
chester, in the Valley of Virginia, there was a fire 
company called the Elizabeth Zane Company, 
and this name was over the door of the eneine- 
house. I have often stood before this house and 
wondered how it got its name, and now I can tell 
you, for this is the story : Elizabeth Zane was 
the daughter of a rich farmer who lived on the 
Ohio River, not far from Wheeling. Her father 



102 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

was very proud of his little girl, and sent her all 
the way to Phil-a-del-phi-a to go to school. So 
she came back finely educated for those days, and 
everybody admired her very much, as she was 
very beautiful and very sweet. Soon after she 
arrived at home, the dreadful news was brought 
that there was going to be an attack upon Fort 
Henry, at Wheeling-, in Northwest Virginia, and 
that all the women and children must take refuse 
in the fort at once, which they did, Elizabeth 
Zane and her mother bein^ of the number. This 
was in the year 1777. 

The Revolutionary War had now been going on 
about a year, and the English did not hesitate to 
use the Indians against their enemy. There was 
a wicked man whose name was Simon Girty, and 
Colonel Hamilton, the English commander, em- 
ployed him to gather a large number of Indians 
to take Fort Henry. He thought Girty the best 
person to employ, as he knew he hated the white 
men, although he was a white man himself. He 
had been captured by the Indians up about the 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY I03 

Great Lakes when he was a boy, and had never 
eone back to the white men. As he was well 
paid by the English, he was only too glad to do 
the bad work they had set for him. He knew 
that Fort Henry had not many men in it, and 
thought it would be easily captured. 

He had an army of five hundred Indians, and 
with these he marched from the Great Lakes 
down to the neighborhood of Wheeling. They 
expected to surprise the fort, as they had kept 
their coming a great secret ; but the white hunters 
in the woods, when they saw so many Indians 
around, knew what to expect, so they all collected 
in the fort. There were only forty-two fighters, 
including old men and boys, under the command 
of Colonel Shepherd, who was a brave soldier. 
Almost all of them were killed. 

The Indians advanced in two ranks upon the 
fort, dodging behind the trees, to avoid the 
shots. Girty, who was at their head, went into a 
hut very near the fort, and calling to Colonel 
Shepherd from the window, read him a paper 



104 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

from Colonel Hamilton, ordering him to surren- 
der, and promising, if they did so, no harm should 
come to them ; but, if not, they would take the 
fort, and every man would be put to death by 
the Indians. Colonel Shepherd called out that 
they never would surrender to a rascal such as 
he was, and that they would never get the fort 
as lone as there was a man alive to defend it. 
Then a young man fired at Girty, who closed the 
window and went away. The battle commenced 
at once, the Indians firing as they came, but the 
Americans had one advantage of them. The 
Indians could not see the men in the fort, so their 
shots missed fire ; but the Americans could pick 
their men, and never lost a shot. 

At last a party of Indians advanced close up to 
the fort, and putting their guns through the logs, 
tried to kill the whites that way ; but it was an 
unfortunate attempt, as the whites, having them at 
such close quarters, killed almost all, and met 
with no harm themselves. Then the whole body 
of Indians retreated, yelling like wild animals. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY I05 

The Americans knew the Indians too well to 
think that they had gone away for good : they 
only wanted to make believe, so that the Ameri- 
cans would come out into the woods, and they 
could surround them and kill them all. But the 
Americans were not so easily fooled, and they 
stayed inside of the fort. Now a dreadful thing 
happened to them. When they went to see how 
much powder they had, they found that the only 
kee had been left in a house outside of the fort. 

o 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XVIII 

What was the name of the fire company in Winchester? 

Who was Elizabeth Zane? 

What happened soon after she returned from school? 

What dreadful thing did the English do in the war? 

Who was the English commander? 

Who was Simon Girty? 

What did Simon Girty do? 

What did the Virginians do? 

Who commanded them? 

Tell of the attack and Girty 's proclamation. 

Tell of the fight. 

What dreadful misfortune happened to them? 



106 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HiSTORY 

CHAPTER XIX 

ATTACK ON FORT WHEELING (CONTINUED). 

Tins brings us to the story of Elizabeth Zane, 
which I promised to tell you. 

When the Americans found they had no pow- 
der, they were at first very much dismayed ; but, 
brave men as they were, never gave up until they 
had tried everything. Colonel Shepherd made a 
speech to his men, and told them that if they did 
not get the powder, there was no hope for them ; 
and he said, "Some one must go for it." He did 
not conceal from them that it was almost certain 
death to any one who made the attempt, as the 
Indians were behind the trees all around, and 
would certainly shoot at any one who left the fort. 
" Now," said he, " is there anybody who will offer 
to go?" Immediately, out of the little body of 
men, about half of them shouted out, " I ! " " I !" 
Colonel Shepherd said that there were too few 
of them to spare more than one of their number, 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



to; 



and it was hard to choose which one that 
should be. 

Just then a wonderful thing happened. A beau- 
tiful young girl came forward, and, blushing deeply 




ELIZADI-.TU ZANE 



as she spoke, said, " I will go for the powder." 
This was Elizabeth Zane, who had taken refuge 
in the fort with her mother. You may imagine 
how the young men all called out, " No !" " No ! " 
But she: answered, very modestly, that if the In- 
dians got the fort, they would all be killed, anyhow, 



108 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

and that not a man could be spared from the de- 
fense. Then, putting her little white hands to- 
gether, she cried, " Oh ! let me go, let me go ! " 
with tears streaming down her cheeks. At last 
Colonel Shepherd agreed to it, and the gate was 
opened wide enough to let her through. 

The Indians and Girty saw the girl, hardly more 
than a child, flying through the woods, her hair 
streaming. But they thought she was of no im- 
portance, and did not even send a shot after her. 
But when, a while after, they saw her flying back 
through the woods, with a keg clasped to her 
breast, they knew what her mission had been, and 
many a shot fell about her, but God watched over 
her. The door of the fort was opened for her, 
and through it she dashed, panting and breathless, 
safe, with her heavy burden in her arms. You 
may imagine how the men received her. I suspect 
all the young men loved her from that minute. 
Well, Elizabeth Zane saved the fort. 

Soon after her return with the keg of powder, 
the Indians made another rush; but the whites 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 109 

each one picked his man, and down he went before 
their shot, so all that were left alive very soon 
retreated. They next came with heavy logs and 
rails, and tried to force open the gate ; but the 
whites, with their unerring aim, raked them down, 
and they had to retreat. 

That night they tried something quite new. 
They took a maple log, through which they made 
a very large hole, which they stuffed with stones, 
pieces of broken iron, and gun-powder, and mak- 
ing a touch hole to it, they dragged their curious 
cannon up as near to the fort as they could get 
it ; but the log must have been an American log, 
for it burst all to pieces, and killed the Indians 
around, and the rest retreated. 

Soon the news reached the settlements near, 
and the hunters made haste to help their friends. 
Some were shot, but most of them succeeded in 
getting into the fort. Among those who came to 
help to save the fort was a Captain McCulloch 
with forty men. When they were seen coming, 
the Indians rushed at them, and the doors of the 



no 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



fort were thrown open to receive them. All got 
in except the captain, who was left outside, facing 
the enemy. The Indians could 
have killed him, but they wanted 




to capture 
him and tor- 
ture him to death, 
as he was a crreat 
Indian fighter. He saw 



CAPTAIN McCULLOCII S LEAP 



that the only hope for 
him was to escape, so he turned and spurred 
his fine horse to Wheeling Hill, a precipice one 
hundred and fifty feet high, at the foot of which 
ran Wheeling; Creek. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY III 

He thought it would be certain death to leap 
down that precipice, but he knew it would be cer- 
tain death to fall into the hands of the Indians ; so 
he spurred his horse, and over they went, and, 
wonderful to relate, neither horse nor rider was 
hurt. They splashed into the water beneath and 
rode away safely. If you ever go to Wheeling, 
you must go to this hill and see where that brave 
man made his leap for life. Fort Henry, at 
Wheeling, never surrendered. Girty had to with- 
draw. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XIX 

What did Colonel Shepherd tell his men ? 

What did they say ? 

Tell what Elizabeth Zane said. 

Did Colonel Shepherd let her go ? 

Tell how she got the powder. 

Who came to help the men in the fort ? 

What happened to Captain McCulloch ? 

Why did not the Indians kill him ? 

How did he escape ? 



112 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

CHAPTER XX 

GREAT MEN OF VIRGINIA 

Now, my children, I want to tell you of the 
" Makers of Virginia," by which I mean the men 
who, by their wisdom and their talents, made Vir- 
ginia the sfreat and honorable State that she has 
always been ; so great and so honorable that, no 
matter into what part of the world you go, when 
you say, " I am a Virginian," you are expected to 
be an honorable, brave gentleman or lady ; and I 
hope that you will all try to keep up the reputa- 
tion which the sons and daughters of the Old 
Dominion have always had. 

I have already told you of George Washington, 
who was "first in war, first in peace, and first in 
the hearts of his countrymen." I will next tell 
you of John Marshall, the great Chief Justice ; 
that is, he was a distinguished lawyer, and then 
he was made Chief Justice of the United States. 

He had fourteen brothers and sisters, and his 
father was not a rich man. In those days it was 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



IT 3 



not easy to get the comforts of life as we have 
now, and it is said that his mother and sisters used 
thorns to fasten their dresses, instead of pins. 
His father was a 
farmer, and deter- 
mined, before every- 
thing else, he would 
8f i v e his children 

o 

good educations ; and 
I have no doubt that 
John thanked him 
many times, and did 
not regret the hard- 
ships by which he 
gained what made him the great and good man 
he was. You may be sure that he, like other 
little boys and girls, was often tired of his books, 
but he did not give up for that. And as he grew 
older there was no office in the gift of his coun- 
try that he could not have had, and when he 
died he was mourned as the greatest loss his 
country could have sustained. 

8 




MARTHA WASHINGTON 



114 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

He was very poor, and often had to dress very 
shabbily. It is said that a tavern keeper in Phila- 
delphia refused to let him enter his house because 
he was so poorly dressed. He would do many 
things which men in his day, even, would have 
thought it beneath them to do. I have time to 
tell you only one story about him, which will 
show you what I mean. 

He used to go to market in Richmond, with his 
basket on his arm, and brine home what was 
needed. One day he was just turning to go 
home, having made his purchases, when he heard 
a young man swearing dreadfully behind him. 
He turned and saw a finely-dressed young gentle- 
man who had bought a turkey and could not find 
any one to carry it home, and who said : "Of 
course I cannot take it home myself ; what am I 
to do ? " and he cursed and swore at the bare 
idea. Judge Marshall stepped up to him, and said 
quietly: "Where do you live, sir?" The young 
man turned and saw a shabbily dressed old coun- 
tryman, and thought, " This old fellow wants to 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 115 

make a little money, so I'll let him carry my 
turkey home;" and he handed him the turkey, and 
told him to follow him. Judge Marshall did so. 
When they reached the end of their walk, the 
young man took the turkey and handed the 
bearer a piece of money. The young man was 
astonished when it was declined, and said to some 
one passing : " Who is that curious old fellow?" 
"That is Judge Marshall, Chief Justice of the 
United States," was the answer. You may 
imagine how the young man felt as he said : 
" What made him brino; ho Tie iny turkey ? " 
" To give you a lesson on false pride," was the 
answer. 

I have not space to tell you any more of this 
oreat man, who died at a o-ood old ao;e, beloved 
and honored by all. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XX 

What is meant by the " Makers of Virginia " ? 

What is a Chief Justice ? 

What sort of a home did John Marshall have when a boy? 



Il6 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Are hardships good for children? 

What happened to him in Philadelphia? 

Tell of his adventure at market. 

What lesson did he want to give the young man ? 



CHAPTER XXI 

STAMP ACT AND PATRICK HENRY 

Patrick Henry, one of the greatest orators 
the world ever knew, was born in Hanover 
County, Virginia. He was very poor, had no 
advantages of education or family to help him, 
was awkward and homely in appearance, and, 
from having grown up rapidly, was very indo- 
lent. Everybody spoke of him as " that lazy 
young rascal, Patrick Henry." He used to lie 
for hours 'in the woods, under the trees, watch- 
ing the birds as they hopped from branch to 
branch. He was devoted to history, and par- 
ticularly to the history of his own country from 
the time that James the First gave the charter 
to the London Company to settle Virginia. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 117 

What seemed to wake him all at once out of 
his leth-ar-gy, was hearing the people around him 
talk of how Great Britain was taxing the colonies 
without their consent. Now let me explain what 
this means. You hear your father and other 
men talk about paying taxes ; that is, every one 
has to pay money to keep up the Government 
under which they live, and no good cit-i-zen 
should object to this ; but in this country the 
people vote for a man, who is one of their 
neighbors, to go to Washington or Richmond 
now, and represent them; that is, stand up for 
their rights. These are the Members of Con- 
gress or Leg-is-la-ture, and no one can be taxed 
unless he has a representative. 

Now, when England owned America this 
country had no representative in Par-lia-ment, 
which is their Congress, and so they had no 
right to tax the people over here. But they did 
tax them heavily, and at last made a law that 
everything that was brought to America should 
have a stamp on it, and all law papers also, and 



Il8 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

the price of that stamp should be added to the 
price of the goods, thinking that the people would 
not object to a small thing like that. This was 
called the " Stamp Act." They did object, not 
to paying the few cents money, but because 
England was making them pay it when she 
had no right to do so. The Virginians loved 
England as a child does its mother, and they 
knew, too, that a war with England would be 
a terrible thing ; but they loved justice better 
than England, and feared submitting to a wrong 
more than they feared fighting the English 
armies. And this it was that awakened Patrick 
Henry, and sent him forth to arouse the people 
by his el-o-quence. 

This happened when he was twenty-eight years 
old. People had found out by this time how 
finely he could speak, and one of the members 
of the House of Burgesses resigned his place 
in order that Patrick Henry might go there 
and arouse the House to a sense of its clanger. 

There were two strong parties in the House : 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



II 9 



one was for submitting to England, by paying 
for the stamps ; and the other was for opposing 
England, by refusing to pay for them. 

You know which side Patrick Henry was on. 



iff 











)T?u£«" 



PATRICK HENRY SPEAKING ON THE STAMP ACT 

America would willingly have voted to give Eng- 
land some money to help to pay her debts, but 
when England said they should pay this tax, the 
Americans said they would not ; and when the 
English agent came with the stamps which were 
to be put upon the law papers and articles for 



120 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

sale, he was so rudely treated that he had to run 
away to save his life. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXI 

Where was Patrick Henry born ? 

What were the circumstances of his life — that is, was he rich or 
poor ? 

How did he spend his time ? 

What branch of study did he like ? 

What seemed to waken his life ? 

For what are people taxed by the government ? 

What is meant by a representative ? 

Why had England no right to tax America ? 

What law did England make about stamps ? 

What was this called ? 

What did Virginians love even better than they did England ? 

What effect did this have on Patrick Henry ? 

How did he become a member of the House of Burgesses ? 

What two parties were in the House ? 

What effect did the Stamp Act have on the people ? 



CHAPTER XXII 

PATRICK HENRY 

As I told you once before in this book, it was 
the fashion in those days for the men to have 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 12 1 

their clothes made of bright-colored silks and 
satins, to have silver buckles on their shoes and 
knees, to wear their hair powdered, and tied in 
queues behind; and so, when Patrick Henry rose 
in the House of Burgesses, he looked so different 
from these finely-dressed gentlemen, that every- 
body laughed. 

He had on plain, coarse clothes and yarn 
stockings, and was awkward in his movements ; 
but when he began to speak he straightened up, 
his eyes sparkled, and his voice was clear and 
beautiful when he spoke of England's wrongs to 
Virginia, and the danger to Virginia if she 
allowed England to take this first step in making 
her a slave. 

It is a great pity that he had not written this 
speech ; but he spoke it just from his heart, and 
there were no re-port-ers, as there are now, to 
take it down in shorthand, and write it off word 
for word on a typewriter. It was one of the 
grandest speeches that was ever made ; and many 
that were oroino- to vote for the English side came 



122 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

over to the American side, although they knew 
it meant the war with England that they so much 
dreaded, and it was decided that they would fight 
rather than submit to the tyr-an-ny of England. 

Well, the House of Burgesses ad-journed in 
great excitement, and as Patrick Henry pushed 
his way through the crowd, to get out of the 
house, a plain countryman clapped him on the 
shoulder and said, " Stick to it, old fellow, or we 
are lost ! " 

After this Patrick Henry became a great 
lawyer. When anyone had a case to try, he 
went to him, because he made people think as 
he did, by his wonderful power in speaking. 

This trouble about the Stamp Act caused the 
Revolutionary War, though it did not take 
place for nearly ten years afterwards. The 
people, however, knew that it must come, and 
by 1 775 the Americans had changed so in their 
feelings, that instead of loving England they 
hated her, and instead of being afraid of war with 
England they longed to begin it ; though there 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 1 23 

were still some who held back because they said 
Virginia was not ready for war, that she had no 
army and nothing to fight with, and that England 
would whip her, and then it would be worse for 
her than ever. You will remember what I told 
you about Governor Dunmore driving the Bur- 
gesses away from Williamsburg because they 
sym-pa-thized with the Bostonians when their 
port was closed. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXII 

How did Patrick Henry differ in appearance from the other 
Burgesses? 

What happened when he began to speak? 

Did he write his speeches? 

What change came over those who listened to him? 

What did the countryman say to Patrick Henry? 

What profession did Patrick Henry choose? 

What did the Stamp Act cause? 

What change came over the people? 

Were they afraid of England ? 



124 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

CHAPTER XXIII 

PATRICK HENRY (CONTINUED) 

As the Burgesses could not meet in the Hall 
at Williamsburg, which was their proper place, 
they determined to meet in St. John's Church, 
Richmond, to consult over the state of affairs, 
which they did in March, 1775. This church was 
a plain old building, which is still standing, not 
far from Bloody Run, where Bacon defeated the 
Indians, and in full view of the place where Poca- 
hontas saved Captain Smith's life ; so that these 
men of Virginia, on looking around them, could 
read the history of their State written on the land- 
scape. This meeting was called a convention, and 
a great many dis-tin-guished men were present, 
but foremost among them was Patrick Henry. 
As soon as the con-ven-tion took its seat, Pat- 
rick Henry rose. He said : " I move that Vir- 
ginia be put in a state of defence immediately." 

A great many wanted to keep peace with Eng- 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



T *5 



land, and thought if they asked the king, he would 
take their part. Then Patrick Henry again rose 
and made the finest speech of his whole life. He 
said there was no use talking about begging the 
king to help them ; they had knelt before him 
again and again, and he 
had done nothing for them ; 
they must fight ; there was 
no use talking about their 
being weak and unable to 
fight ; if they were doing 
right, God would help 
them ; they must remem- 
ber the best Book in the 
world says, " The race is 

not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." 
" There is no choice. If we submit, we are 
slaves ; our chains are ready for us ; we can hear 
them clanking ; the war must come, and I say 
let it come. Indeed the war is actually begun. 
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be pur- 
chased at the price of chains and slavery ? For- 




PATRICK HENRY 



126 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

bid it, Almighty God ! I know not what course 
others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, 
or give me death ! " 

As he said these last words, with both arms ex- 
tended, and his flashing eyes raised to heaven, 
the members became so excited that they were 
ready to rise from their seats and go against the 
British at once. There was no opposition now. 
It was all swept away by the voice of Patrick 
Henry ; and before the week was over, the news 
came that the war had actually begun in Massa- 
chusetts. 

Thomas Jefferson, one of the great men of Vir- 
ginia, said : " We could not have done without 
Patrick Henry. He was before us all in keeping 
up the spirit of the Revolution. He was our 
leader." 

Patrick Henry fought bravely in the Revolu- 
tionary War, and was chosen the first governor of 
Virginia, to the great delight of the people. He 
served two terms, and would have been reelected 
the third time, as no one was so popular as he ; but 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



I2 7 




THE WASHINGTON GROU 



he refused the honor, and Thomas Jefferson was 
elected in his place. 

I will tell you one more story of Patrick Henry. 
It was in the year 1799, twenty-four years after he 



125 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

made his great speech. The war had been fought ; 
America had gained her independence ; Patrick 
Henry was a very old and feeble man. He was 
appointed to make a speech. The tears came into 
the eyes of many as they saw how feeble he was. 
He said he had not wanted Virginia to join the 
United States. He thought she could have been 
a great country by herself, but she had chosen to 
do it, and she must be loyal to the government. 
Then, waving his body backwards and forwards", 
he said, "If we are wroner, let us all q-o wrone 
together." The people Avere so excited that the 
bodies of the whole audience waved with his, and, 
as he sank ex-haust-ed into the arms of the crowd, 
some one exclaimed : " The sun has set in all his 
glory." He died very soon afterwards. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXIII 

When the Burgesses could not meet in Williamsburg, what did 
they do ? 

Where was St. John's Church ? 
What was the meeting called ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 1 29 

What did some of the people still think ? 
What did Patrick Henry say ? 

Who did he say would help them if they did right ? 
What does the Bible say ? 

What did Patrick Henry say would happen if they submitted to 
England ? 

Repeat the end of his speech. 

What was the effect of his speech ? 

What did Jefferson say about Patrick Henry ? 

Could he fight as well as speak ? 

Tell of his last speech in 1799. 

What did the people say of him ? 



CHAPTER XXIV 

JOHN RANDOLPH 

When Patrick Henry made his last speech, 
there was a young man in the audience who 
was very well known to all the people around, 
for he had grown up in that neighborhood, and as 
Patrick Henry's exhausted frame was borne away 
by his friends, this youth stepped forward, and, 
mounting to the plat-form, took the place just 
va-ca-ted. Everybody was astonished. "Why, 



130 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

they said, " that is Johnny Randolph ! Does he 
expect us to listen to him after Patrick Henry?" 
And one old man said: "Tut! tut! it won't do! 
It's like the beating of an old tin pan after a 
fine church organ." If that old man lived a 
little while longer, he learned to know that the 
" old tin pan " grew into the " church organ " 
after awhile. The sun was rising after the 
sunset. 

John Randolph was the greatest orator after 
Patrick Henry that Virginia ever saw. Unlike 
Patrick Henry, who was born poor, and of plain 
family, John Randolph came from a very dis- 
tinguished family, and had plenty of money. 
He was descended from Pocahontas, who, you will 
remember, married John Rolfe, and when she 
died left one son, who was the great grandfather 
of John Randolph. His mother was Frances 
Bland, the daughter of Theodric Bland, who after- 
wards married St. George Tucker. John Ran- 
dolph was born in the year 1773. His mother 
was a very beautiful woman and devoutly pious. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 131 

He said, in after life, that he was once near be- 
coming an atheist — that is, one who does not 
believe that there is any God — but the thought 
of his mother, and how she used to make him 
kneel at her bed and repeat the Lord's Prayer, 
saved him. Many a boy's mother has saved him 
in the same way. 

I have a letter in my possession, written by 
him when he was an old man, and he writes : 
" Ah, I remember to have seen her die, to have 
wondered that the sun continued to shine and 
the order of nature to eo on." And when he 
writes this little sentence about his mother, his 
hand, which had written firmly and distinctly, 
shakes so, that you can hardly read what he 
writes. 

Once, when he was an old, gray-headed man, 
very sick and suffering and miserable, he crossed 
the Ap-po-mat-tox River below Petersburg, and 
went to " Cawsons," his old home, where he had 
been born and his mother was buried, and going 
to her grave, bowed himself upon the stone 



32 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



that covered her, and wept like a little child. 
All this showed that he had a tender heart ; but 
he let himself get into the habit of talking very 

bitterly, and this made a 
great many people hate 
him, and they would not 
believe anything good 
about him. 

This way of talking is 
a very bad habit. We 
should always avoid 
hurting the feelings 
of any one. No 
doubt it made his 
old age more mis- 
erable to think how 
much cause he had 
given to persons to 
hate him. The only excuses that can be made 
for him are, that he was a great sufferer, which 
made him nervous and irritable, and he had a 
great dis-ap-point-ment in his life. 




JOHN RANDOLPH AT HIS MOTHERS GRAVE 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY I33 

He was engaged to be married to a beautiful 
young lady, to whom he had been attached since 
they were children, but for some reason the en- 
gagement was broken off, and this made him 
very unhappy. He never married any one else, 
and when he died, a letter from her and a faded 
rose were found in his room. John Randolph 
became very celebrated. He was made Minister 
to Russia, and travelled abroad a great deal, and 
a great many of his letters still exist, giving fine 
accounts of his travels. 

He made a great many celebrated speeches, but 
there was too much of ill-temper about them for 
you to enjoy hearing them. He died at last in 
Philadelphia, on his way to Europe. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXIV 

Who rose after Patrick Henry made his last speech ? 

What did the people say ? 

Who was John Randolph ? 

Tell of his mother. 

What did he say kept him from being an atheist ? 

What is an atheist ? 



134 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



What did he say about his mother's death ? 

What happened when he was an old man ? 

What bad habit did he have that made others dislike him ? 

Tell the story of his great disappointment. 

Where did he die ? 

What lesson should we learn from his life ? 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE VIRGINIA PRESIDENTS 

Thomas Jefferson was born in Albemarle 
County, Virginia. His ancestors came from 
Wales, and em-i-gra-ted to this country in 1619, 

which, you know, was 
only about twelve years 
after the first settlement 
of this country. 

Thomas Jefferson's 
father was a farmer, and 
from all accounts was a 
very wise man. He was 
noted for being very 
thomas jefferson strong, and always made 




STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 135 

Thomas take a great deal of exercise, and he 
became one of the strongest men of his time. 
His father died when he was fourteen, and when 
he was dying he charged his wife not to allow 
their son to neglect exercise necessary to health 
and strength. Jefferson was a keen hunter, and 
could shoot turkeys, deer, foxes, and other game 
on his own estate. His father had taught him to 
swim his horse over the Rivanna River, which 
flowed through his farm. At school he is said to 
have been very industrious, a good scholar, with a 
talent for literature and math-e-mat-ics ; but he 
was very shy. From the description we have of 
his appearance, he was certainly not handsome. 
When he entered college at seventeen " he was 
tall, raw-boned, freckled, and sandy-haired ; he 
had large feet and hands, thick wrists, and promi- 
nent cheek bones and chin ; but, though far from 
handsome, he was a fresh, healthy-looking boy, 
very straight and active, and with the air of a 
country boy about him. 

His father had directed in his will that he 



136 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

should finish his education at William and Mary 
College, and Jefferson used to express his grati- 
tude to his father for taking such pains to secure 
him a good education, saying, that if he had to 
choose between the money his father left him and 
the education, he would choose the education. 
He had a fine teacher, Professor Small, at Wil- 
liamsburg, who became very fond of him, and used 
to make him the companion of his walks. He 
was one of ten children, and the whole family 
were very musical. Thomas was an excellent per- 
former on the violin, and when he was in Wil- 
liamsburg, which was the capital of Virginia, he 
was invited by Francis Fauquier, the governor, 
every week, to a musical party at the " Palace," 
where he performed on the violin for the amuse- 
ment of the company. He was in the House of 
Burgesses when Patrick Henry made his first 
great speech, which you will remember I told you 
about. He was a member of the House of Bur- 
gesses and the Legislature, and was made Gov- 
ernor of Virginia in 1779, after Patrick Henry. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



137 



He was Congressman, Minister to France, 
Secretary of State, Vice-President and President 
of the United States. He served two terms as 
President. He founded the University of Vir- 
ginia. He died at his beautiful mountain home, 
Monticello, on the 4th of July, 1826. But after 
all, the thing that he was most celebrated for, was 
writing the Declaration of Independence for 
America. He was 
a Viro-inian of 
whom we may all 
be proud, and whom 
Virginia boys may 
safely take as an 
example. 

James Madison 
was born in Vir- 
ginia in 1 751. His 
ancestors were 




JAMES MADISON 



among the early settlers of the State. He was 
the eldest of twelve children. Very little is known 
of his school days, but we know he must have 



I38 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

been a good student, because when he entered 
public life he was still very young, and he was 
remarkable for his large acquaintance with liter- 
ary subjects. He wrote finely, and was distin- 
guished for quickness* in learning and great 
industry, and for devotion to his State. He 
was particularly distinguished as a highly honor- 
able man, and, it is said, failed to be elected 
once to the Legislature because he would not ask 
for votes, or furnish whiskey for thirsty voters. 
He had all the honors his State could save 
him, and was made President after Jefferson, 
in 1809. He died, full of years and honors, at 
Mont-pe-lier, his home, in Orange County, Vir- 
ginia, June 28, 1836. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXV 

Where did Thomas Jefferson's an-ces-tors come from? 

Tell what you know of his father. 

What directions did he leave for his son? 

Tell what you know of Jefferson as a boy. 

Where did he go to college? 

Who was his teacher, and what of him? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 139 

Tell of his college life. 
What honors did his State give him? 
What honors did the United States give him? 
But what was the greatest thing he did? 
How should Virginians esteem him? 
Who was the President after Jefferson? 
Where was Madison born, and when? 
Why do we know he was a good student? 

What reason is there for knowing that he was an honest, high- 
minded man? 

What year was he made President ? 
In what year did he die ? 



CHAPTER XXVI 

JAMES MONROE 

Four out of the first five Presidents of the 
United States were Virginians, and all distin- 
guished themselves in that office. Monroe was 
the fourth of these. He was born in 1758, in 
Westmoreland County, Virginia, very near where 
the Father of his Country, George Washington, 
was born about twenty-five years before. Here also 
was born " Light Horse Harry," as he was called. 



140 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



His real name was Henry Lee, and he was cele- 
brated in the Revolution, but is more interesting to 
us from the fact that he was the father of General 
Robert Lee, who led the Confederate Armies 

during our Civil War. 

When Monroe was a 
boy, every one was ex- 
cited about the Stamp 
Act, which you will re- 
member I told you 
about, and you may 
imagine how angry the 
boy was at the tyranny 
of E norland. No doubt 
this was the cause of 
his always being so interested in politics ; for 
what a boy sees and hears determines what kind 
of a man he will be. He entered the College 
of William and Mary when he was very young ; 
it was at Williamsburg, which was the capital of 
Virginia. 

At the first breaking out of the Revolutionary 




JAMES MONROE 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 141 

War, James Monroe and his great friend John 
Marshall joined the army, to fight for the united 
colonies. A historian of that time writes : " Among 
those who went forth to fiodit the battles of the 
colonists, I see these two gallant youths, and 
when the struggle is past, once more they enter 
your lists to serve their country." 

As soon as the war was over, he was elected to 
the Legislature of Virginia ; he was made Minister 
to France and to England ; he was Governor of 
Virginia, served in the Congress of the United 
States, and was twice President. 

I could fill many pages with his story, but you 
will take more interest in him when you grow 
older and can better understand the great events 
of the time in which he lived. He was the author 
of the " Monroe Doctrine," which you will know 
about later. He died in New York, on the Fourth 
of July, 1 83 1. While he was President, Lafayette 
came to the United States and was received by 
Congress. 

I have tried to give you some history of the 



142 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

great men of the past in Virginia, and have only 
been able to tell you enough to interest you in 
them, so that in the future you may study about 
them and the times in which they lived, and 
may not feel that they are quite strangers. The 
list might be a great deal longer, but it would 
make our book too large for such little people. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXVI 

When was Monroe born, and in what county ? 
What other distinguished man was born there twenty-five years 
before Monroe ? 

What distinguished father of a distinguished son was born there ? 

What did Monroe hear so much talked about when he was a boy ? 

What effect did it have on him ? 

Where did he go to college ? 

With what great man did he join the army ? 

What was said of them ? 

What honors were given Monroe by his country ? 

What doctrine was he the author of ? 

Why have I given you these sketches ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



43 



CHAPTER XXVII 

LAFAYETTE 

And now I want to tell you a story of the 
young French officer who came over to help the 
Americans gain their independence. His name 
was La-fay-ette. He was very rich, had thirty 
thousand dollars a year, 
and was of high birth ; he 
was a marquis, which is 
the title of a nobleman in 
F ranee. When he was six- 
teen years old he was 
married to a beautiful gfirl 
of fourteen, and they were 
very fond of each other. 

When he was nineteen, which was in the year 
1776, the brother of the King of England, George 
III., dined with Lafayette at the house of an old 
nobleman at Metz, in France. He was telling 
how much trouble his brother, George III., was 




LAFAYETTE 



144 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

having" with his colonists in America. He said 
that they actually refused to pay taxes, saying 
that the king had no right to tax them without 
representation. The boy Lafayette was listen- 
ing eagerly all the time, thinking what a brave 
people the Americans must be, and from this 
time he determined that he would leave his wife 
and two children and beautiful home, to go and 
help the colonists to gain their independence. 
His friends all thought he must be crazy, and the 
King of France commanded him to stay at home ; 
but he secretly had a ship built at his own 
expense, and taking a few friends with him, who, 
like himself, were anxious to go and fight for the 
Americans, he started off without taking leave 
of anyone, and sailed for America. 

He landed at Charleston, South Carolina, and 
from there the party went to Philadelphia, a dis- 
tance of nine hundred miles, on horseback, the 
only way to travel in those days. The American 
army was at Philadelphia, and Congress was 
sitting there. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 145 

It was considered such a erand thine for the 
Marquis de Lafayette to come all the way from 
France to take their part, that Congress gave him 
a commission as Major-General, although he was 
such a boy. They hoped that if they thus 
honored him, France might help them to fight 
against the English, and they were not dis- 
appointed ; for after a while the French did come 
to their help, and I doubt whether they could 
ever have gained independence without their 
assistance. 

Lafayette became a great general. Washing- 
ton loved him like a son. Once Lord Cornwallis, 
the English general, heard that Lafayette was 
bringing an army against him, and he laughed 
at the idea, and said: "The foolish boy, he 
can't escape me ; " but Lafayette whipped him 
and made him run away. 

Once during the war Lafayette returned to 
France and succeeded in raising a large sum of 
money for the American cause. Then he came 
back and fought to the end of the war. After 



146 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

America gained her independence, and the war 
was all over, Lafayette returned to his own 
country. He fought in France, was a prisoner 
for a great many years in Austria, and lost all 
of his money. 

He was invited by Monroe, then President of 
the United States, to visit this country as the 
guest of the nation. They told him that if he 
would come a war vessel should be sent over for 
him. He accepted the invitation, although he 
was sixty-seven years old, and came. 

What a commotion he made ! The people 
were overjoyed to see him. He had a reception 
by Congress at the Capitol, and then at the 
President's house. As he was now poor, Congress 
gave a large sum of money to him. 

He travelled all through the country, and 
everywhere he was received with the greatest 
joy. He lived ten years after this, and always 
continued to love America as well as he loved his 
own country. He named his only son George 
Washington. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 147 

I have been able to give you only a short 
sketch of him, but I hope it will interest you 
enough to induce you to read his whole story. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXVII 

What was the name of the young Frenchman who came to help 
the Americans ? 

Tell what you know of his early life. 

What made him take an interest in the Americans ? 

What made it hard for him to come to America ? 

Tell of his escape from France. 

Where did he land ? 

Where did he go next ? 

How was he received by Congress ? 

How did they honor him, and why ? 

How did Washington regard him ? 

What did Cornwallis say of him ? 

Tell of his return to France. 

What did he do after the war? 

Tell of his visit to America. 

How was he received ? 

How did he show his love for Washington ? 



148 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 

The Revolutionary War began in April, 1775, 
when the battle of Lexington was fought, and 
in June of the same year George Washington 
of Virginia was appointed by Congress com- 
mander-in-chief of the army. 

I have not tried to tell you the story of the 
Revolution ; you will learn that later ; but I want 
to tell you a little of the last scene in the war, 
the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He 
was considered a great general by the English 
and by himself. 

The English had gained a great many of the 
battles of the war, and they had no idea that 
the ragged Americans could whip the tried 
armies of England. Cornwallis was sent down 
to capture Virginia and destroy all the stores 
which the Americans had collected in the State, 
and Washington sent Lafayette down from 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 149 

Pennsylvania to oppose him. Lafayette suc- 
ceeded splendidly, and by his bravery and skill 
he forced Cornwallis to retreat to Yorktown, 
a few miles from Jamestown, where Cornwallis 
thought he could easily get his army away by 
water, if the Americans should be too strong 
for them on the land side. But the French 
fleet of vessels, coming just at the right time to 
help the American army, surrounded Yorktown 
on the water side, and Lafayette's army built 
its fortifications on the land side, so Cornwallis 
was shut up like a rat in a trap. 

Washington was now in New York ; but when 
he heard of the situation down in Virginia, he 
started off with his whole army, including the 
French under General Ro-cham-beau. Lafayette 
was all ready for him, and I must tell you how 
generous he was. 

A oreat many of the French soldiers with him 
tried to persuade him to take Yorktown before 
Washington came ; but Lafayette said : " No ; 
General Washington is the proper person to 



5° 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



end the war," and on the 19th of October, 1 78 1 , 
Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. Of 
course, it was a great mor-ti-fi-ca-tion to the 
English, and you may imagine what a joy to 
the Americans. 






n 

1 1 




!_ . 






_J 



SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 



They had gained their independence, and the 
English found that they could not prevent it. 
And now the young country had to prepare 
itself to take its place among the nations 
of the world, and to do this it must form a 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 151 

government of its own. This was not an easy 
matter. The States each had its own Governor 
and Legislature, and would not be ruled by 
other States, and still they were all drawn so 
close together by fighting in the Revolution that 
they wanted to have some tie to bind them 
together, and this is the plan they fixed upon : 

Each State was to have its own crovernment, 
and in addition they were to have a big Capitol 
at Washington where there would be a President 
and Congress who would decide all matters for 
the good of the whole. This President was to 
be elected every four years from one of the 
States, and by the people from all of the States, 
and the Congress was to be made up of men sent 
from all the different States to represent the 
people. 

There was to be a great army which was to 
protect the whole country, but it was solemnly 
agreed that the State laws were not to be inter- 
fered with. This was called " States Rights." 
Some of the great men Q f Virginia did not 



152 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

approve of this plan. Among these was Patrick 
Henry, who spoke bitterly against it ; but after 
it was done, as I told you before, he thought 
Virginia ought to be faithful to the bargain. 

This government was called the United States 
of America. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXVIII 

When did the Revolutionary War commence ? 

What was the first battle ? 

What was the last scene of the war ? 

What of Cornwallis ? 

For what purpose was he sent to Virginia ? 

Who met him ? 

What did Lafayette force Cornwallis to do ? 

Why did Cornwallis think Yorktown a good place for him ? 

What vessels shut up Yorktown on the water side ? 

Who surrounded the land side ? 

What did Washington do when he heard this news ? 

What did the French soldiers try to persuade Lafayette to do? 

What did he answer ? 

How did the English and Americans feel about the surrender? 

What had the Americans now to do ? 

What was their great difficulty in forming the government ? 

What plan did they fall upon ? 

What was the meaning of States Rights? 

Who disapproved of the plan of union ? 

What was the government called ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 153 

CHAPTER XXIX 

THE JOHN BROWN KAIL) AND WHAT LED TO IT 

In the last chapter I told you of the forming 
of the United States government. All the laws 
which were to govern it were written in a paper 
styled The Constitution of the United States, 
and here it was made very plain that the State 
laws were not to be interfered with, and from 
neglect of this the trouble came. 

Many years before the Revolution, slaves had 
been brought to America, and the English Govern- 
ment made so much money by capturing Africans 
and selling them in America, that they insisted 
that it was right. Virginia never liked it, and 
remonstrated with England ; but it did no eood, 
and all the colonies had slaves. This was not 
bad for the slaves. In their own country they 
were can-ni-bals, or man-eaters, and very degraded 
in every way. They were much better off in this 
country, where they were taught to know about 



154 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

God and about other things which were good 
for them. 

After a while the slave-trade, as it was called, 
was stopped ; but not until a great number of slaves 
were owned in all the States. As the years went 
on, the Northern people found that the Africans 
could not live in their cold climate, and so they 
sold their slaves to the Southern States, where 
the climate agreed with them, as they came from 
a warm country, and they were of great use in 
working in the cotton fields. When they were 
rid of most of their slaves, the Northern States, 
one after the other, made it the law that none of 
their people should own slaves. 

As time passed, the North decided that it was 
a great sin for the South to have her slaves, and 
she ought to be made to give them up. They 
talked about this so much in Congress, that the 
two parts of the country began to hate each other 
as people who quarrel will do. 

The South said that it was one of her State 
Rights, and the Constitution had promised that 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



55 



those rights should not be interfered with ; while 
the North tempted the slaves away from their 
owners whenever they could, and whenever a new 
State was formed, laws were made that no slaves 
should be taken there. 




JOHN BROWN CROSSING THE RIVER INTO VIRGINIA 

This went on until, in the year 1859, a man 
named John Brown, from Kansas, had thought so 
much of the great sin of the North in allowing the 
South to keep its slaves, that he decided it was 
his duty to free them ; so he gathered a small 



156 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

army, and came down to Harper's Ferry in Vir- 
ginia. His plan was to persuade the negroes to 
join him, and so his small army would become a 
large one ; but he found he was mistaken. The 
negroes did not want to fight against their mas- 
ters, and were only frightened, and the United 
States sent soldiers to join the Virginians, who 
were indignant at the idea of a Northern man 
coming to interfere with their State Rights, and 
John Brown and his men were captured, and after 
trial were hung in Charlestown, West Virginia. 
This made a great noise through the whole coun- 
try. Some thought it was right to hang them, as it 
was a dreadful thins: for a State to be invaded, 
and brought into such danger ; others looked upon 
John Brown and his men as martyrs, who had died 
for a good cause ; so the feeling became more 
and more bitter until it ended in the Civil War, 
in i860. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXIX 

What was the Constitution of the United States ? 
What caused trouble ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 157 

Tell about slavery. 

Why was this not bad for the slaves ? 

Did Virginia like slavery ? 

Why did the North give up slavery ? 

What did they do with their slaves ? 

After they had sold them, what change came over them ? 

Tell of the discussion in Congress. 

What did the Northern people do about it ? 

What did the South say ? 

Who was John Brown ? 

What did he do ? 

When was this ? 

Did the negroes join them ? 

How did it end ? 

What did people North and South think about it ? 

In what did it end ? 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE FIRST GUN OF THE CIVIL WAR 

More than a year passed after the John Brown 
raid before the Civil War began. 

The subject of slavery was dis-cussed in Con- 
gress with more and more bitterness. Abraham 
Lincoln was elected President, and as this was 



■58 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



done by that party who were pledged — that is, 
bound by promise — to prevent slave-holders from 
going to the new States, some of the Southern 
States determined to secede, that is, go out of the 
Union, and have their own governments as they 




FIRST GUN OF THE CIVIL WAR 



had them before the United States was formed. 
Virginia loved the Union, and determined not to 
leave it as long as there was a hope of making 
peace between the North and the South ; so she 
did not join the States that seceded, but proposed 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 159 

a Peace Congress to meet at Washington in Feb- 
ruary, 1861, and at the same time a Convention 
met in Richmond to decide what course Virginia 
would take. 

By this time the North and South were so 
angry with each other that peace was no longer 
possible. The men who were sent to the Peace 
Congress came back to Virginia very indignant at 
the way they had been treated, but the Virginia 
Convention in Richmond would not decide until 
all hope was gone. In April, President Lincoln 
ordered the States to raise a large army of men to 
go down and make war upon the Southern States, 
because they had left the Union. 

Then Virginia decided, rather than allow her 
men to be forced to fight against the South, that 
she would join her Southern sisters, so on the 
17th of April, 1861, Virginia passed the Ordinance 
of Secession ; but, always particular to do things 
lawfully, it was ordered that the people of the 
State should vote upon this question. As this 
would take some time, she at once took the gov- 



l6o STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

ernment workshops at Harper's Ferry, Norfolk, 
and other points. 

This made the government at Washington very 
angry, and they raised an immense army. 

When Virginia seceded she had no army to 
fight, and no firearms to fight with ; but her men 
were so en-thu-si-as-tic and so indignant at the way 
they had been treated, that they came in great 
numbers to join the army. 

At Harper's Ferry the Virginians managed to 
save a great quantity of machinery, cannon, and 
small arms. General Robert E. Lee was made 
commander-in-chief of the Virginia army. He 
had been in the United States army, and would 
have been made commander there, if he would 
have accepted it ; but he said, " I am a Virginian, 
and must fight for my own State." 

A camp was formed at Richmond, where the 
young soldiers were taught the art of war, and 
it was in charge of Major Thomas Jackson, after- 
wards known as "Stonewall" Jackson. 

The first blood shed in Virginia was on the 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY • l6l 

24th of May, when a portion of the United States 
army marched across the bridge at Washington 
to Alexandria in Virginia, of which they took pos- 
session in the name of the United States. They 
did not expect any opposition, but they saw a 
Confederate flag floating from the roof of a small 
hotel, called the Marshall House, which was 
owned by a Mr. Jackson. 

Colonel Ellsworth, who was in command of 
the United States troops, entered the house, went 
up to the roof, and took down the flag. He met 
Mr. Jackson, as he returned, coming hastily out 
of his room, half dressed, to see who it was that 
was invading his house. " This is my trophy ! " 
said Ellsworth, holding up the flag as he saw 
him. "And you are mine!" said Jackson, firing 
a pistol into his breast. He fell dead instantly, 
and in another moment Jackson fell dead across 
his body, pierced by the bullets and bayonets of 
Ellsworth's followers. 

This was the first blood shed in Virginia— that 
of a Virginian killed in the defence of his home. 



l62 • STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXX 

How long after the John Brown raid did the war begin ? 

Who was elected President ? 

What did the South object to in this election ? 

What did the Southern States do ? 

What course did Virginia take ? 

Where did the Peace Congress meet ? 

How did the Peace Congress end ? 

What did Lincoln do ? 

What did Virginia do ? 

What action did the North take ? 

What was the situation of Virginia ? 

Who was made Commander of her Armies ? 

What honor was offered Lee by the North ? 

What did Lee say to the North ? 

Where did the war begin ? 

Tell of the first blood of the war. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE 

It is not necessary to give you a history of the 
whole Civil War, but only a story here and there, 
and this is best done by sketches from the lives 
of the two greatest generals who were dis-tin- 
guished in that strife. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 163 

General Robert E. Lee came from one of the 
most famous families of Virginia. It was an 
ancestor of his who fitted out and manned the 
vessel which was sent over to Holland by Vir- 
ginia, to invite Charles II. to come over and be 
crowned King of Virginia when he was banished 
from England. 

His father, Henry Lee, called " Light Horse 
Harry," was the greatest cavalry general of the 
Revolutionary War, and was greatly beloved by 
General Washington. I will tell you a story 
about him which will make you remember him. 
He was injured by a mob in Baltimore, 1812, 
and went to the West India Islands, hoping this 
would help him to recover. It did not; and, find- 
ing that he must die, he started for home, but was 
taken so ill that he stopped at the house of a 
friend on the coast of Georgia. He suffered so 
terribly from his wound that it made him very 
ir-ri-ta-ble, and he drove every one out of the 
room. The lady of the house sent an old negro 
mammy, who was a splendid nurse, to attend to 



164 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

him. This old woman had nursed all the chil- 
dren of the family, and all the sick people, and 
was greatly beloved. When " Light Horse 
Harry" saw her come into his room, he picked up 
his boot and threw it at her, missing her narrowly. 
She stopped, as-ton-ished at such treatment ; then 
she stooped down, picked up the boot and threw 
it at him, missing him narrowly. A smile passed 
over the sufferer's face, and he was so pleased 
with her pluck that he never allowed any one to 
nurse him except herself. He died soon after. 

General Robert E. Lee is mentioned by his 
father, in one of his letters, when Robert was a 
small boy. He says: ''Robert is always good. 
Does he ride and shoot well and tell the truth?" 
That was a part of a boy's education in those 
days. 

Robert was only eleven years old when his 
father died. For years, during his father's 
absence, he had been left to the care of his 
mother, who is described as a very lovely woman. 
To her, more than any one, the praise should be 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 165 

given for the rare virtues of General Lee's life. 
I should have told you before that he was born 
in Westmoreland County, near to the birthplaces 
of Washington, Madison, and Monroe. 

The name of the home of the Lees in West- 
moreland was Stratford. It was built by the first 
Lee who came to this country, and when it was 
accidently burned the Queen of England sent a 
large sum of money to Mr. Lee to have it re- 
built. With so much to be proud of in his family, 
General Lee never showed any of that foolish 
"family pride" which often makes people ri-dic-u- 
lous. 

Once, when some one wrote to him of a desire 
to write a history of his family, he answered : " I 
am much obliged to you, but I have no desire to 
have my family record published. It will be of 
no interest to any one outside, and the money 
that would be needed to publish it had much 
better be given to the poor." 

He chose the army as his profession, and went 
to West Point to study. As you may guess, he 



i66 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



was a good student, and every one praised him. 
He was fond of society and enjoyed the company 
of ladies. He married Mary Custis when he was 
twenty-four years old. They had known each 
other from childhood, and when he came back 




LEE AND HIS SWEETHEART 



from West Point, at twenty years of age, in his 
cadet uniform, lookine handsomer than she had 
ever seen him before, Mary Custis, the great- 
great-grand-daughter of Martha Washington, re- 
turned the love he offered her. And so the 
marriage, which proved so happy, took place four 
years afterwards. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 167 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXI 

What did an ancestor of General Lee do ? 

Who was General Lee's father ? 

Tell the story of "Light Horse Harry" and the old mammy. 

What did his father say of Robert ? 

What can you tell of his mother ? 

Where was General Lee born ? 

What of Stratford ? 

Did General Lee have great family pride ? 

What kind of a young man was he ? 

Whom did he marry ? 

Tell of their love story. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE (CONTINUED) 

In 1846 General Lee fought and distinguished 
himself in the Mexican War, and when, in 1861, 
Virginia decided to join the Southern States by 
se-ce-dine from the Union, although General 
Lee — who was then Colonel Lee — did not think 
that it was a good thing for her to do, yet, as 
he was a Virginian, he could not raise his sword 
against his native State. 



l68 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

He believed in States Rights ; that he must 
fight for Virginia rather than for the United 
States against her, not-with-stand-ing the United 
States offered to make him their commander- 
in-chief. This was a noble course for him to 
take, and the world honors him for it now, 
although he was on the defeated side. 

He lived at Arlington, a few miles from Wash- 
ington, and one of the loveliest places in the 
whole country. It had been built by Mrs. Lee's 
father, and had been her home before her mar- 
riage, and was left to her by her father, Mr. 
Custis, at his death ; and when Colonel Lee re- 
signed and went to offer his services to Virginia, 
he left his family at Arlington. 

On reaching Richmond, he was at once made 
major-general of the armies of Virginia by 
the convention meeting there. He was ordered 
the next day to appear before the convention. 
This troubled him greatly. He was a very 
modest man, and hated to be gazed at ; but he 
felt obliged to go. As he entered, leaning on 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 1 69 

the arm of Mr. Johnson, the chairman of the 
committee, all the convention rose as a mark of 
respect, and all admired the dignified, splendidly 
handsome man. Let me describe him to you 
in the words of another: "He was in the full 
flush of ripe years and vigorous health ; his form 
was tall and well knit ; his head, well shaped, 
gave in-di-ca-tion of a powerful in-tel-lect ; his 
face, not yet lined by age, was remarkable for 
its personal beauty, lighted by eyes black in the 
shade, but brown in the full light ; his manners 
were grave and kindly, with no affectation of 
dignity. Such is the man whose stately figure 
in the capitol at Richmond brought to mind 
the old race of Virginians, and who was to win 
a rep-u-ta-tion, not only as a first commander, 
but as a perfect and beautiful model of man- 
hood. When about half way up the main aisle 
Mr. Johnson stopped, and introduced General 
Lee. He was welcomed warmly by the Con- 
vention, and so beean his duties in the service 
of his native State." 



170 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



You will study later the story of his wonder- 
ful career as the Commander-in-chief of the Con- 
federate armies, his many successes against the 
greatest odds. This went on for four years, the 

Confederate army grow- 
ing smaller and smaller, 
the Federal drawing its 
numbers from the whole 
world, until at last Gen- 
eral Lee was obliged to 
surrender at Appomat- 
tox a mere handful of 
men to an army many 
times its size. 
It is easy for a man to be great in victory, but 
few men have been so ereat in defeat as General 
Lee. He said to General Grant : " I have some 
thousands of your men prisoners. I send them 
to you, as I have no provisions for them. My 
own men have been living principally upon 
parched corn for the last few days." He then 
mounted his horse and rode out among his men. 




ROBERT E. LEE 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



17 



They crowded about him, anxious to touch him 
and to speak to him. He turned slowly to them, 
and with voice quivering with emotion said : 
" Men, we have fought through the war together. 




LEE TAKING LEAVE OF HIS SOLDIERS 

I have clone my best for you. My heart is too 
full to say more. Farewell." He went to Rich- 
mond, where a house was provided for him, and 
where he lived for some time in quiet dignity. 
I could tell you much more of him, but time 



172 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

and space fail me. After the war he was offered 
a professorship at Washington College, Lexing- 
ton, which was afterwards called Washington and 
Lee, out of compliment to him. Here he died and 
was buried. The simple inscription on the marble 
capping over the brick vault where his body lies, is : 

Robert Edward Lee, 
born january 19th, 1807, 
died october i2th, 18/o. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXII 

In what war did Lee first fight ? 

Why did he decide to join the South in the Civil War ? 

What did the North offer him ? 

Where did Lee live ? 

What of Arlington ? 

What happened when Lee reached Richmond ? 

Tell of his introduction to the convention. 

Describe his appearance. 

How long did the war last ? 

Tell of General Lee's difficulties. 

How did the war end ? 

How did General Lee behave in defeat ? 

What did lie say to General Grant ? 

Tell of his farewell to his men. 

What did he do after the war ? 

Where did he die ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



73 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

STONEWALL J AC K S< >X 

Thomas J. Jackson was born in Harrison 
County, Virginia, in 1824. He had only such 
advantages of education as could be given in a 
plain country school, and 
you must not forget that 
such schools then were 
very different from the 
public schools now-a- 
days; t h e y were not 
nearly so good. Little 
more was taught than 
reading, writing, and 
a r i t h m e t i c. W hen 
Thomas Jackson went to West Point, at the age 
of eighteen, it is not strange that he felt mor-ti- 
fied that he knew so much less than other boys 
of his age. But he was not made of the stuff 
that gives up before difficulties, so he went to 




STONEWALL JACKSON 



174 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

work from the very beginning, and studied until 
he had thorough knowledge of what it was 
nec-es-sa-ry for him to know, and at last he 
graduated at the head of his class. 

He fought in the Mexican War, and was pro- 
moted for brave conduct on the battle-field. He 
was second lieu-ten-ant when he left West Point, 
then captain, and last major. The officers above 
him all knew that when he was told to do a thing 

o 

he was going to do it if it was possible. 

In his whole life it was never known of him to 
fail in anything for want of effort, and there is no 
better rule for young people than just this : put 
your whole strength in what you have to do, and 
nine times out of ten you will do it. 

When he came back from Mexico the whole 
country was at peace, and no chance of any more 
fighting, so Major Jackson, rather than lead the 
idle life of a soldier, resigned his commission in 
the army and accepted a position as professor at 
Lexington Military Institute, Virginia. It was 
here that he became a Christian ; and as he was 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 1 75 

thoroughly in earnest in this, as well as every- 
thing else he did in life, he was celebrated as a 
great Christian hero. He was so simple in his 
manners that the boys used to laugh at him some- 
times, but they respected him for all that. 

Major Jackson never talked politics use-less-ly, 
but he was devoted to his own State, and believed 
in States Rights, and that Virginia had a right to 
secede if she thought it best for her own people ; 
and when, in i860, the Southern States left the 
Union he ap-proved of their course, and offered 
himself to nVht for Virginia. 

Of course the young men of Virginia knew 
nothing about war, and so a camp was established 
at Richmond, and Major Jackson was ordered to 
bring some cadets down to drill the young volun- 
teers. 

There was the greatest excitement everywhere. 
Crowds of young men were begging to be drilled, 
all business was deserted, and even the boys at 
school thought that time spent in study was lost 
when the South needed defence. 



176 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Before he had been long in Richmond, the gov- 
ernor made Major Jackson colonel. Everybody 
was surprised, and some one asked the governor, 
"Who is this Jackson of whom you are making 
a colonel?" The answer was : "He is one who, 
if told to hold a post, will never leave it so long 
as he has life to defend it." 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXIII 

Where was Jackson born ? 

What of his childhood ? 

How did he meet his difficulties at West Point? 

What was the result ? 

in what war did he fight? 

What promotions did he have ? 

What character did he have ? 

What example did he set you? 

What did he do when he returned from Mexico? 

For what was he celebrated ? 

How did the " boys " regard him ? 

Did he talk politics ? 

What did he believe on the subject ? 

What course did he take when Virginia seceded? 

Tell of the camp of instruction. 

What was the state of feeling in Virginia ? 

What promotion did the governor give him ? 

What did the governor say of him ? 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 177 

CHAPTER XXXIV 

STONEWALL JACKSON (CONTINUED) 

To give you a full account of General Jackson's 
splendid career in the army would take too much 
time ; but I want you to know the man he was, 
that you may hereafter study to know what he 
did. His medical director, Dr. McGuire, said, 
"While I was dressing his wounded hand at the 
field hospital after the battle of Manassas, I saw 
President Davis ride up from Manassas ; some 
one had told him that our army had been de- 
feated. He stood up in his stirrups, his face pale 
and stern, and cried to the men who were stand- 
ing around, ' I am President Davis ! Follow me 
back to the field!' I told General Jackson what 
he had said. He stood up, and, taking off his cap, 
called out, ' We have whipped them ; they ran like 
sheep. Give me ten thousand men, and I will 
capture Washington City to-morrow ! ' It was at 
this battle of Manassas that he earned the name 

of ' Stonewall' General Bee, who was afterwards 
12 



178 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

killed at Manassas, rode up to General Jackson 
and said, ' General, the enemy are beating us 
back.' General Jackson, without looking at all 
troubled, said, 'Well, give them the bayonet.'' 

General Bee rode back to his men, who were 
just ready to retreat, and said, " There is Jackson 
like a stone wall ; rally behind the Virginians ! " 
After this he was called "Stonewall" Jackson, 
and his brigade the Stonewall Brigade, 

The love which existed between himself and 
the Stonewall Brigade was very great. He was 
so proud of them and they of him, that they 
would follow him anywhere, sure he would lead 
them to victory. They always spoke of him as 
"Old Jack!" 

After the battle of Manassas he was promoted 
and ordered to another command. This meant 
leaving - his beloved brigade ; but he was a true 
soldier and obeyed orders, so he mounted his 
horse and rode out to take leave of them. He 
did not often make speeches, and what he now 
said was more like a father taking leave of his 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



179 



children. He told them he had been proud of 
them, and how well they had done, and how, after 
each battle in the future, he would watch to see 
what the Stonewall Brigade had done ; and then, 
his lips quivering, his eyes full of tears, he rose in 
his stirrups, extended his arms to them and cried, 




JACKSON PARTING FROM HIS MEN 



"In the Army of the Shenandoah you were the 
first brigade ; in the Army of the Potomac you were 
the first brigade ; and in the Second Corps you are 
the first brigade ; and now you are the first brig- 
ade in the affection of your general ; and I hope 
by your future deeds you will be handed to pos- 



l8o STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

ter-i-ty, as the first brigade in this our second war 
of independence." You will be glad to hear that 
within a few months General Jackson was returned 
to his dear brigade, and there was great rejoicing. 

No one ever saw Jackson afraid in battle. One 
of his soldiers once told me that he saw him on 
horseback, beneath a tree, when the bullets were 
flying all about him, and the branches that were 
cut down by them were falling around him, but he 
was perfectly cool. 

At another time, one of his staff rode up to him 
and shouted through the din of battle, " General, 
the Yankees are shooting at you." He answered 
very coolly, " Yes, sir. Thank you. They have 
been doincr so all day." 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXIV 

What is the object of this sketch ? 

Tell of his meeting with President Davis. 

How did Jackson answer him ? 

Tell how he earned the name of "Stonewall." 

Tell of Jackson and the Stonewall Brigade. 

Tell of his parting from them. 

Did he return to them ? 

Tell of his fearlessness. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY iSl 

CHAPTER XXXV 

STONEWALL JACKSON (CONCLUDED) 

One more picture of General Jackson from 
Dr. McGuire's pen. It was the battle of Chancel- 
lorsville, the last battle in which Jackson fought. 
Hooker, the Federal general, had crossed the 
Rap-pa-han-nock River, with a hundred and 
twenty-three thousand soldiers. General Lee 
had less than half that number, but Lee and 
Jackson were at their head. " Lee and Jackson ! 
How well I remember their meeting before this 
battle. Said Jackson, ' Lee is a wonder. I would 
follow him blindfold!' And when Lee heard 
that General Hooker had crossed the river, he 
called a messenger and said, l Go back and tell 
General Jackson that he knows as well as I what 
to do.' Never shall I forget the eagerness and 
intensity of Jackson on that march. His face 
was pale, his eyes flashing, and he said every 
moment or two, ' Press forward ! Press forward ! ' 



l82 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Every soldier knew that we were engaged in 
some great movement, and pressed on at a rapid 
gait." 

I only wanted to give you this picture of 
Jackson going to battle, that you might see the 
man. It was during this fight that General 
Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men, 
and word was sent to General Lee, who wrote 
to General Jackson, " I have just received news 
that you are wounded. I cannot express my 
sorrow. I would have chosen to have been 
wounded in your stead. I congratulate you 
upon the victory, which is due to your skill and 
energy." 

General Jackson had ridden off in the dusk of 
evening" with his staff to find out the exact 
position of the enemy, and had placed a part of 
his men on a road on which the enemy might 
advance, with orders that they should fire on 
any body of cavalry that appeared from that 
direction. After finishing the work he had set 
for himself, he and his staff returned on this very 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 183 

road, never thinking of the chance of their not 
being re-cog-nized. But, terrible to relate, his 
own soldiers that he had placed there mistook 
them for an advance of the enemy and fired on 
them, and the great hero fell, pierced by the 
bullets of his own men. 

The Federal forces advanced at that moment, 
and the fighting over the wounded soldier's body 
was so hot that for a time it was not possible 
to take him off the field. He was struck twice 
as he lay on the ground. At last they took him 
to a place of safety, where he died after a week 
of suffering. Almost his last words in his de- 
lir-i-um were : " Let us cross over the river and 
rest in the shade of the trees." 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXV 

What was Jackson's last battle ? 

Who was the Federal general ? 

Tell of how Lee and Jackson loved each other. 

Describe Jackson's going to battle. 

Tell of Lee's letter to Jackson. 

How was Jackson shot ? 

Tell of his last hours. 



184 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



GENERAL TURNER ASHBY 



Did you ever see any one who was not afraid 
of anything, who was always polite and gentle 
to those who were weaker than himself, and 
generous and noble in his dealings with every 
one; whose strongest desire was to do what was 
right because it was right, and scorned every- 
thing that was low and mean, and would not 
tell a lie for anything in the world, because a 
lie is wrong and cowardly ? There is a word 
that is used to describe all this ; and I want you 
to learn it : it is chiv-al-ry, and the word was first 
used in very olden times. 

The oreat soldiers, called knights, used to 
make vows, when they went to war, that they 
would protect the weak, particularly women ; that 
they would be noble and brave ; that they would 
rather die than turn their backs on an enemy ; 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 185 

and that they would fear God and honor their 
country and be generous to their enemies. 

There were a good many soldiers in the Con- 
federate army who had all the spirit of these 
knights of old, but one es-pe-cial-ly I want to 
tell you about, because I think he was one of 
the most interesting men I ever knew. This 
was General Turner Ashby. He was a Vir- 
ginian, of course — because only Virginians are 
in this book — and, like many of you, a regular 
country boy, devoted to riding and hunting and 
all country amusements. The " Ashby boys " 
were considered the finest riders in Virginia. 

After he became a man, I saw him many a 
time ridine tournament, which I have described 
before to you in these pages, and Turner Ashby 
almost always won the prize for carrying off the 
rino-, which prize was to crown the lady of his 
choice the queen of love and beauty, and they 
would dance together at the ball that was given. 
Oh, how beautiful it all was ! I remember it as 
if it had been yesterday. That was before the 



l86 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

people of Virginia knew anything about the 
horrors of war. 

Turner Ashby was rather small and slender, 
with lovely soft black eyes and a long black 
beard. He was never known to do an ungener- 
ous act or to be afraid of anything in his life. 
Although he was so brave, he was as gentle as a 
girl, and everybody loved him and respected him. 
He was a devoted Christian, and before the war 
he used to teach a Sunday-school class in Fau- 
quier County, and the children thought he was 
the Greatest and handsomest man that ever lived. 

The first time Turner Ashby ever saw anything 
like war was when John Brown invaded Virginia, 
and he was so indignant at the idea of such a 
thing that he gathered all his young com-pan-ions 
together and led them to Harpers Ferry. After 
John Brown was hung, Ashby returned to his 
home, but he felt very sure that it would not be 
long before Virginia would have to fight, and he 
kept the company, of whom he had been elected 
captain, together, and they studied the art of 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 187 

war ; and when the war really was declared, and 
Virginia seceded, and the news came that the 
United States government had set fire to the 
armory at Harper's Ferry, Turner Ashby, who 
was in Richmond, started for home, where he 
found his cavalry company waiting and eager to 
join him to fight for Virginia. 

An old friend, a neighbor of his, learning what 
he was about to do, sent for him and said, 
" Turner, you know how I prize my white horse, 
and that I would never sell him to any one. 
Now I give him to you as your battle horse ; you 
will make your mark in the coming war; ride the 
horse for my sake." Ashby did so, and the 
general and his white horse were known every- 
where. 

How often I have seen him chargine at t h e 
head of his company on that beautiful white 
horse ! 

Turner Ashby's brother Richard was one of 
the handsomest men I ever saw. He was younger 
than Turner, and a very much larger man, with 



l88 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

the same raven-black hair and dark complexion. 
He was living in Texas when the war opened, 
but came home to join in the defence of Virginia 
as soon as she seceded. Just as he arrived Turner 
had been made lieutenant-colonel, and Richard 
was made captain in Turner's place. But 
his fighting days were soon over, poor gallant 
young fellow. He was betrayed by a man who 
promised to guide him where he could capture 
some of the enemy, instead of which, he led him 
into an ambush where he and his little com- 
pany were surrounded by a much larger force, 
and he was literally cut to pieces. 

It is said that, when he lay wounded on the 
ground, one of the enemy, standing over him, 
asked him, " Are you a Union man?" The dy- 
ing soldier answered, " No, a Secessionist," and 
instantly a bayonet was thrust through his breast. 

This death of his brother had a terrible effect 
on Turner. He never recovered from it, but was 
always a sad man afterwards. 

Once when Turner Ashbv was commanding on 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 189 

one side, while a large army of the Federal forces 
was on the other side of the Potomac River, near 
Shepherdstown, Ashby, whose company consisted 
of soldiers who had never been under fire before, 
and were very nervous and timid, said to them, 
" Why, boys, there's no danger, as I will show 
you." He rode on his white horse down to the 
river bank, where the shots were falling as thick 
as hail, and with the greatest coolness rode up 
and down in full view of the enemy and within 
range of their guns ; where the hail was heaviest 
he would rein in his horse and stand perfectly 
still, but not a shot struck him. His men looked 
on in astonishment, and he never had any diffi- 
culty in leading them afterwards. 

I will tell you of an adventure, part of which I 
saw myself. Jackson had occupied Winchester 
for some time, and the Federal army had never 
been seen by the people of the town ; so, when we 
heard that a larore force of Federals were nearine 
Winchester, we were scared, but it was reported 
that General Jackson had said he had no idea 



I90 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

of retreating. That night, however, news was 
brought that the Federal army had nearly sur- 
rounded the town. Jackson and Ashby went out 
together to see if this was so, and found that 
there was only one road by which the little Con- 
federate army could retreat. There was but one 
thing to do. General Jackson sent for the Rever- 
end Mr. Graham, a great friend, and said, 44 I had 
hoped to stay with you, but I must go God 
bless you all and protect you." 

That night the Confederates marched quietly 
out by the valley road. The next morning we 
heard the dreadful news, and you may know that 
there was great weeping and wailing. We felt 
entirely forsaken. We gathered in the streets 
and at the windows, and looked fearfully up the 
road. At first we saw nothing, and then there 
came a little sparkle like dew upon the grass, and 
objects seemed to be moving in the sunlight, 
and next they took the form of men, and we 
knew the enemy were upon us. Oh, how we 
cried ! But our attention was suddenly drawn to 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 191 

the sound of horses' hoofs, and, turning, we saw 
about eieht Confederates, with white bands on 
their sleeves, riding up the street of the town 
towards us, and, wonderful to tell, General Ashby 
was at their head. He stopped to speak to us, 
and said how sorry he was to leave us ; but now 
the Federal army were about a hundred yards 
away, and, raising their hats to us, General 
Ashby and his men turned down the street up 
which they had come. 

As we retreated towards the house, we saw 
them stop, turn their faces in the direction of the 
enemy, and heard them give three cheers for the 
Southern Confederacy. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXVI 

What is chivalry ? 

When was the word first used ? 

What was the vow which knights of old took ? 

Who is described here as a chivalrous man ? 

Tell of Turner Ashby 's early life. 

Tell of his character and appearance as a man. 

What was the first fighting Turner Ashby ever saw ? 

How did he get his war horse ? 



I92 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

What was his brother's name ? 

Tell the story of Richard Ashby. 

Tell how Turner Ashby gave courage to his men. 

Tell the story of Jackson's retreat from Winchester. 

Tell about the last interview with Ashby. 

What did Ashby 's men do as the enemy advanced ? 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

GENERAL TURNER ASHBY (CONTINUED) 

This adventure had a very surprising end. The 
Federal soldiers knew well that this was the 
Ashby they so feared in battle who seemed to 
be daring them to capture him, and as the rest 
of the little company had left him, and he was 
alone in the town with the enemy, two of them 
dashed around the side streets, determined to cap- 
ture him ; so when Ashby came to the end of the 
town, he found himself face to face with the two 
Federals, who, with drawn swords, ordered him to 
surrender. He dashed upon them, and sending a 
pistol ball through the head of one, grasped the 
other, dragfgfed him from his horse, seized him 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 1 93 

by the throat, and bore him bodily out of the 
town. Of course he could not have done this 
unless he had been a wonderful rider and a very 
strong man. At another time he was left behind 
by Jackson to destroy a bridge over the Shenan- 
doah, but the timbers were so wet that they would 
not burn, and he was obliged to fly to avoid cap- 
ture. Two of his pursuers were in advance of the 
rest. He could easily have escaped from them 
with his swift white horse and fine ridine, but he 
did not like the feeling of running away, and 
although both his pistols were empty, he delib- 
erately turned in the road and waited for them. 
Just then a shot from one of Ashby's men brought 
one of his pursuers to the ground ; the other, not 
prepared for Ashby's turning around, was going so 
rapidly that he could not stop himself, and rode 
right upon him, and a blow from Ashby's sword 
brought him to the ground. But alas! his beauti- 
ful white horse was shot. He had saved the life 
of his master, but lost his own. " He was white as 
snow, except where his side and legs were stained 




.\>lli;\ S ENCOUNTER WITH Ills PURSUERS 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 1 95 

by his own blood. His mane and tail were long 
and flowing ; his eye and action showed the rage 
with which he regarded the wound he had re- 
ceived. He trod the earth as grandly as a 
wounded lion." This wonderful soldier once rode 
twice through a Vermont regiment, cutting his 
way forward, then, wheeling in riding, cut his 
way back. 

All this sounds too strange to be true ; but it is 
true, and only shows that when a man is brave 
and daring he can do many times more than one 
who is timid and cowardly. But this could not be 
always. He fell at last at the battle of Port Re- 
public in the Valley of Virginia. 

It is said of him, that the night before his last 
battle it seemed as if he could not rest. His 
men, worn out with marching and fighting, were 
stretched on the ground asleep, but he paced up 
and down before the camp fire, and seemed to be 
thinking deeply. Perhaps he was praying to 
God, for he was a noble Christian. The next 
day came the battle. He was leading the Vir- 



I96 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

ginians and Mary landers when his horse was shot 
under him. He jumped up from the ground and 
led them on foot, crying, " Virginians, charge ! 
Men, cease firing! For God's sake, charge!" 
Just then a bullet struck him full in the breast, 
and without a struggle he fell dead. No braver 
man ever went to heaven from home or battle- 
field than Turner Ashby. He died the sixth of 
June, 1862. 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXVII 

What adventure did Turner Ashby have leaving Winchester? 
How did it end ? 

What order did Jackson give him in regard to Shenandoah 
bridge ? 

Why was he obliged to fly ? 

Tell how he escaped his pursuers. 

Describe the death of his horse. 

Where did Ashby fall ? 

What happened the night before his death ? 

Describe his death, 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY I97 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL J. E. B. STUART 

Of all the Virginia generals of the Southern 
Confederacy, you young people would probably 
have enjoyed most, General J. E. B. Stuart, 
whose initials, as you see, spell Jeb, but whose real 
name was James. The reason why you would 
have enjoyed him was that he was so full of fun, 
always ready with a joke and a frolic. He made 
everybody laugh, even General Stonewall Jack- 
son, who very seldom did laugh ; but when Gen- 
eral Stuart got hold of him and got him to under- 
stand the joke, which was sometimes a little hard, 
they say he would shake his sides laughing. 
General Stuart was born in Patrick County, Vir- 
ginia. He graduated at West Point in 1854, 
which was in time for him to take part in the 
political war in Kansas. 

Then he was in the John Brown affair, and it is 
said that his was the sword that brought John 



I98 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

Brown down. Of course he joined the Army of 
Virginia at the opening of the War of the Con- 
federacy. He was a gallant figure that could not 
easily be forgotten. Here is a word picture of 
him : " Beneath a lofty forehead were brilliant 
blue eyes, which, when lighted up, were full of a 
pleasant expression ; a heavy beard covered the 
lower part of his face, and a huge mustache would 
have looked fierce, if it had not been so often 
moved by laughter. He wore a drooping hat 
with a black plume, caught up at the side with a 
silver star ; tall cavalry boots, decked with golden 
spurs," adorned his lower limbs. Everybody knew 
the fighting jacket, and the magnificent horse 
splashed with mud from head to hoof ; the ruddy 
com-plex-ion and dancing eyes. He was ready for 
a dance or a fight, whichever came first, and en- 
joyed both ; a warm-hearted Christian gentleman, 
whose cheerful temper lightened the burdens to 
many in those hard times. 

I will tell you an amusing story which he used 
to tell on himself. He had a class-mate at West 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY I99 

Point named Perkins, who used to . be called 
11 Perk " for short. One day, when Stuart was 
riding around near the Federal army under Pat- 
terson, whom should he see but his old friend 
"Perk." He called out, "Why, Perk! How 
dye do ! What are you doing here ? " 

Captain Perkins turned, and was delighted to 
see his old friend Jeb Stuart, and greeting him 
heartily, said, " Why, Beauty, I didn't know you 
were with us." 

11 I never guessed we were on the same side," 
said General Stuart. " What command have 
you t 

" That's my command over the hill," replied 
Perkins, pointing to a battery that was coining 
toward them with a United States flag before 
them. 

" Oh ! that yours ! " exclaimed Stuart, and as 
he stuck spurs into his horse, he called back, 
" Good-by, Perk." 

He might have made "Perk" prisoner, but he 
could not take that advantage of an old friend. 



200 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

In 1862. General Pope was appointed to com- 
mand the Federal Army of Virginia, while Mc- 
Clellan was still commander of the Army of 
the Potomac. Pope was a general who thought 
a great deal of himself, and that he was going 
to conquer the Southern Confederacy very 
easily. He boasted a great deal, and made a 
speech to his army to the effect that he did not 
approve of this protecting the property of the 
rebels, and that he intended that his army should 
subsist, that is, live on, the country through which 
they passed ; that they needn't talk about lines 
of retreat, he was never going to retreat ; that he 
would never see anything but the backs of his 
enemies. This produced a great deal of fun 
afterwards. I will tell you how in the next 
chapter. 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXVIII 

Who is our present story about ? 
What sort of a man was he ? 
Describe his appearance. 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 201 

Tell the story of his friend "Perk." 

Who was the Federal general of the Army of Virginia in 1862 ? 

What kind of a man was he ? 

What did he say in his speech to his men ? 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL J. E. B. STUART (CONTINUED) 

General Stuart, like General Ashby, was 
not so careful as he should have been of himself. 
He ran so many risks and made so many narrow 
escapes, that he did not believe he would ever 
be overcome. One night he came to a small 
settlement near Orange Court House, where he 
expected to meet General Fitzhugh Lee. Gen- 
eral Stuart went to sleep on the porch of a house, 
and when he waked in the morning, he saw a 
body of cavalry coming up the road. He called 
to an officer to see if it was Fitz Lee's cavalry ; 
the officer rode to the fence, and was met by a 
volley of shot, from which he understood they 
were not friends. It did not take Stuart a 



Zo2 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

minute to leap to his feet, catch his favorite mare 
11 Skylark," who was grazing in the yard without 
bridle or saddle, leap upon her, dash over the 
inclosure amid a shower of bullets, and ride into 
the forest unhurt. 

When the enemy came, they found on the 
porch where he had slept the cape of his over- 
coat and a brown slouch hat looped up on one 
side with a star, and ornamented with a black 
plume, and they knew that once more their game 
had escaped them. 

Just one week after this adventure General 
Pope was retiring before Lee's army. Stuart 
made an expedition to the rear of Pope, and 
struck the railroad at Catletts Station on the 
Orange and Alexandria road. It was a dark and 
stormy night, and the men could scarcely see 
their hands before them ; but they plunged for- 
ward at full speed and completely surprised the 
enemy. They burned their wagons and baggage- 
train, and when Stuart reached Pope's head- 
quarters, he found that the general had fled in 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HiSTORY 20^ 

such haste and disorder, that he had left all his 
papers and his uniform overcoat behind him, which 
latter Stuart seized to pay him for the cape and 
hat he had lost a few days before. The papers 
were sent to General Lee, and the coat was ex- 
hibited in Richmond, with a label attached to it 
on which Stuart wrote, " Taken from the man 
who never expected to see anything but the 
backs of his enemies." I was in Richmond at 
the time, and I remember how merry everybody 
was over the two adventures. 

From this time Stuart became very fond of 
raids, which means that he would go with his 
cavalry to the most unexpected places to find 
out the situation of the enemy and to make 
captures. Once, moving very rapidly to Freder- 
ick, in Maryland, and pushing on in the direction 
of the railroad, he found a body of five thousand 
Federal troops just ready to board the railroad 
train. Going around through the woods, Stuart 
determined to reach the ford of the river before 
the Yankees could oret there. He succeeded, 



204 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

without the loss of a single man killed. They 
had travelled thirty-six hours without halting, 
over a distance of ninety miles. Stuart, in 
making his report, says, " We seized and brought 
over a large number of horses and obtained most 
valuable information in regard to the enemy's 
numbers ; took captive a number of United States 
officers, whom we brought over as hostages for 
our own citizens, who had been torn from their 
homes and confined in dungeons in the North, 
feeling sure that the hand of God was seen in 
the deliverance of my command from danger. 
For the success attending it I ascribe to Him 
the praise, the honor, and the glory." 

While Turner Ashby lived, he was more Gen- 
eral Jackson's lieutenant than an)' other officer; 
that is, he acted with his cavalry under Jackson's 
immediate orders ; but after Ashby's death Stuart 
worked more with [ackson. At the battle of 
Chancellorsville, when (ackson was shot down 
and Hill was wounded, Stuart was appointed to 
take the command. When (ackson was told this 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 205 

he said, " Tell him to act upon his own judgment 
and do what he thinks best ; I have perfect confi- 
dence in him." 

We now come to the last days of the brave 
officer, when it will be proved that he held no 
charmed life, although he almost seemed to 
believe that he did. His clothing was often 
pierced by the bullets, and once his mustache 
was taken off as clean as a razor could have cut 
it. He used to say that he was afraid of no 
bullet that was aimed at him ; but it came at last. 

It was in the early days of May, 1864, when 
Richmond was thrown into terrible consternation 
by the news that General Sheridan had come very 
near the city. 

This raiding of the cavalry which the Confed- 
erates had brought to such perfection the Fed- 
erals were now practising with almost equal 
success, and General Sheridan's raid was a very 
alarming one ; but just as the people of Richmond 
were expecting to hear the firing of the Federal 
guns, a despatch from General Stuart came which 



206 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

reassured them. It was dated from Ashton, May 
nth, and this is what he said to General Bragg : 

" General — The enemy reached this point, but 
was promptly whipped out by Fitz Lee's advance, 
quite a number being killed and wounded. The 
enemy is marching on Yellow Tavern, six miles 
from Richmond. My men and horses are hungry 
and jaded, but all right. 

"J. E. B. Stuart." 

This was his last despatch ; the next day his 
prostrate, bleeding form was brought into Rich- 
mond. He had fought the enemy for six 
hours, and completely defeated Sheridan at Yel- 
low Tavern. He was pursuing the flying army 
with great ardor, and had just fired a shot, when 
one of the fugitives turned around and, steadying 
his gun on the top of an iron fence, sent a ball 
right into Stuart's stomach. He did not fall from 
his horse, but turned and rode to the rear, feeling 
sure that his wound was mortal. He was taken 
in an ambulance to Richmond, where he died the 
following day. 



208 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

His last moments were worthy of his Christian 
life, for General Stuart, with all his gay temper, 
was an humble, devoted Christian. He frequently 
asked that familiar hymns might be sung to him, 
and when told that death was rapidly approach- 
ing, he nodded his head and said, " I should like 
to have seen my wife, but God's will be done." 
He then left his last messages and calmly took 
leave of those around him. 

He left his golden spurs, which had been given 
him by the ladies of Baltimore, to Mrs. Robert E. 
Lee as a memento of his affection for her. He 
gave his horses to his staff officers, and left his 
sword to his baby boy. He then prayed with the 
minister, and with the words, " I am going fast 
now ; I am perfectly resigned," he yielded up his 
spirit to Him who gave it. 

He was laid in Hollywood Cemetery, on the 
side of a hill, close by the grave of a little daugh- 
ter who had been a great darling with him. 

One says in writing of him, " He was the model 
of an excellent soldier ; he was splendid in action ; 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 209 

he had a magnificent presence. It may be said 
of him, he was hardly serious enough, often car- 
ried away by his high spirits ; but when death 
came, the bright blue eye that could beam with 
laughter met it without the quiver of a lid. No 
braver spirit, no truer heart ever expired in Lib- 
erty's cause." 

QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XXXIX 

In what was Stuart like Ash by ? 

Tell of his escape from the Federal cavalry. 

What did the enemy find on the porch where he slept ? 

What happened one week after ? 

How did Stuart pay himself for the loss of his coat and hat ? 

What label did he put on Pope's coat ? 

Tell of his raid to Frederick in Maryland. 

What report did he make of this raid ? 

What appointment did Stuart receive when Jackson was wounded ? 

What did Jackson say when he heard of it ? 

Tell of Stuart's raid to the neighborhood of Richmond. 

Repeat his last despatch. 

How was he wounded ? 

Describe his death. 

What is said of him ? 



2IO STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XL 



THE BEVERLY RAID 



Have you never observed that a person who 

sees a thine and acts in it can tell about it much 
<_> 

better than one who only hears of it from others ? 
I have ; and I think that the interest of this story 
I am going to tell you lies a great deal in the fact 
that it is told by one who took part in it, and who, 
as he talks, can see all that happened thirty-five 
years ago just as if it were to-day. He was a 
mere boy then, and now he is getting to be an 
old man ; but things like these one never forgets. 
It was late in the month of December, 1864, 
that the brigade of cavalry under the command of 
General Rosser went into camp near Staunton, 
Virginia. They had been fighting and marching 
constantly. The fortunes of the Confederacy were 
in the last gasp, though the soldiers did not think 
so, but were as full of fight and as sure of success 
as ever. Their clothes were in rags. Their shoes 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 21 T 

were worn out. They had very few blankets. 
Their horses were broken clown, as well as the 
men, so all were glad to go into winter quarters. 
They could, at least, keep the camp-fires burning, 
and rest beside them. A few days only, however, 
after going into camp the order came that a detail 
of all the best mounted and equipped soldiers 
should be made for a raid into West Virginia. 
There was, of course, a ereat deal of grumbling- 
over the order, but they knew that would do no 
good. So few horses could be found which were 
fit for use that the army was a very small one ; 
but some of the officers volunteered to eo, so that 
that made the number somewhat lareer. 

The start was made on Saturday morning in 
sleet, hail, and snow, and the first night they 
rested at McDowell, on the battle-ground where 
General Jackson won the first battle in his won- 
derful valley campaign two years before. 

Orders were issued to remain at McDowell 
over Sunday for the purpose of organizing the 
little army, as they had been picked from different 



212 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

regiments and companies, and were chosen more 
for their horses than for themselves. By this time 
it had become known that it was the intention of 
General Rosser to march them across the Alle- 
ghany Mountains, and the men were almost in 
open rebellion. They were far more afraid for 
their horses than for themselves, as there was 
hardly a horse in Virginia fit for such a journey. 
"Without horses," they said, "good-by, cavalry," 
as there was not a chance of replacing them, 
almost every horse in Virginia being in the army. 
Rosser found that camp was no place for such dis- 
satisfied .soldiers, so he ordered them to fall in, and 
made this speech to them : 

" Men of the Laurel Brigade," said General 
Rosser, "your line is a short but a for-mi-da-ble 
one. You are cream of the richest skimmings. 
I have made req-ui-si-tion after requisition to our 
p-overnment for overcoats, blankets, and shoes. I 
have received nothing ; our country is too poor. 
We have turned our backs now on worthless quar- 
termasters, and will go to the enemy and take 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 213 

what we need from him, and with God's help we 
will get it too ! Break ! Face to the right ! 
March to the left I" 

" I do not suppose," says our narrator, " that 
there was ever a more ef-fect-ive speech made. 
The men started with a yell, and that was the last 
that was heard of disobedience in that command. 

" The road from McDowell to Beverly, from start 
to finish, was over the mountain. We saw but 
one house on the march, a distance of about thirty 
miles from base to base, and that was on the sum- 
mit. We started in rain and snow and ended it in 
the same. I do not suppose that a man in the 
command had a dry stitch on him. When we 
reached the top and began to go down, it was bit- 
terly cold, and our clothes froze as hard as boards. 
The roads were very much cut up, the ruts 
were full of ice and snow, the horses constantly 
stumbled and fell, and their riders were thrown 
over their heads. I got off of my horse and 
led him, and I stepped into one of the ruts and 
got my boots full of water, which froze my feet 



214 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

so that I had to pull my boots and stockings 
off, and a considerable amount of flesh came of! 
with them. 

"At last we reached Beverly and were happy 
to find that the enemy were entirely unprepared 
for us. After capturing the pickets, a squad of 
mounted men dashed into the town. It was now 
about four o'clock in the morning. All of the 
Federal officers were attending a ball at the hotel. 
We surrounded the house and made them all 
prisoners. The private soldiers were asleep in 
their huts, and the first they knew was the order 
to come out ; this order was given by our men in 
language which they understood, and out they 
came in only the clothing they were sleeping in, or 
that they could grab as they left their huts. The 
poor fellows were so unfortunate as to get their 
shoes mixed, which caused great trouble in the 
march back, as those who had shoes too small for 
them had to cut them so as to give their feet 
room ; and in a march such as I have described, 
of over a hundred miles back to Staunton, it 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 215 

caused untold sufferings. It was certainly the 
hardest march made by any soldiers during the 
war. There has a great deal been written about 
Bonaparte's soldiers crossing the Alps, but that 
could not have been worse than this. 

"After the first few days, the shoes of the pris- 
oners were all worn out, and the snow over which 
they walked was reddened with their blood. I 
have never seen any of the Confederates who 
were on that trip who were not frozen in some 
way ; and if we who were mounted and had every 
advantage to protect ourselves suffered so much, 
what must it not have been with the poor prison- 
ers without shoes in such terrible weather ? So 
cold was it that water tossed in the air froze be- 
fore it reached the ground. Everything that could 
be done was done to give comfort to the prisoners, 
but that was not much. 

" There was one interesting thing which I must 
not forget to tell about. When our cavalry was 
drawn up ready to start from Beverly, the pris- 
oners also were ready for the march ; and when 



2l6 STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 

they saw that our line, though we were on horse- 
back, was so much shorter than theirs, they were 
generous enough to acknowledge the bravery of 
the little army which had captured them, and they 
broke out into a tremendous yell which made the 
woods ringf. 

14 We reached Staunton in about ten days, and 
turned over about five hundred prisoners ; at least 
two for each man in our army when we reached 
Beverly. In looking back to this campaign, now 
more than thirty-two years ago, the whole affair 
appears like a wonderful dream ; it seems equal 
to some of Sir Walter Scott's romances. That 
three hundred men, worn out in the war, with their 
horses, most of them, looking more like the skele- 
tons of horses than animals fit for any kind of 
duty, should cross the Alleghany Mountains in 
the middle of winter, with at least eighteen inches 
of snow on the ground, for the purpose of attack- 
ing two regiments of Federal troops, infantry and 
cavalry, in winter quarters, in a fortified camp, 
with a division of cavalry at Clarksburg, only a 



STORIES FROM VIRGINIA HISTORY 21 7 

short day's march away, was, in my opinion, one 

of the most daring deeds in the history of the 

world. 

" And we succeeded, too ! 

" H. B." 



QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER XL 

Can a person tell a story of what he has witnessed better than 
one who just hears of it ? 

What was the condition of Rosser's cavalry brigade in Decem- 
ber, 1864? 

What order came to them ? 

How did they receive it? 

When did they start to Beverly ? 

Where did they stop first ? 

What made General Rosser decide not to remain at McDowell ? 

Repeat his speech to the men. 

What effect did it have on them ? 

Tell of the sufferings of the march. 

What condition of things did they find at Beverly ? 

Tell of the capture of the army there. 

What increased the sufferings of the prisoners ? 

Tell of the interesting scene which took place when they were 
drawn up for the march over the mountain. 

What happened when they reached Staunton ? ■ 

What made this a wonderful march ? 



THE HOLCOMBES 

A Story of Virginia Home Life Before the War. By Mary 
Tucker Magill. Published by J. B. Lippincott Co., 
Philadelphia, Pa. 

WOMEN 

Or, Chronicles of the War. By Mary Tucker Magill. 

Published by Turnbull Bros., Baltimore, Md. 

A vivid picture of life in the South during the late Civil War. It is a 
sequel to the " Holcombes," and gives a moving contrast to the simple 
happy life in Virginia homes before the War. 



THE HISTORY OF VIRGINIA 

Published by J. P. Bell Co., Lynchburg, Va. 

This book was written at the request of Virginia educators, and was 
adopted in manuscript by the Board of Education in Virginia in 1873, and 
has been readopted by every Board since that time. 



UNDER THE PRUNING KNIFE 

A Story of Discipline. By Mary Tucker Magill. Published 

by Presbyterian Board of Publication, Philadelphia, Pa. 

The scene is laid on a Virginia plantation. The beautiful old life in the 
South is faithfully portrayed. 



PANTOMIMES 
OR WORDLESS POEMS 

By Mary Tucker Magill. Published by Edgar S. Werner, 
New York City. 

This little book is intended to be used by classes in elocution and to 
give grace and ease of movement in speaking. 



Magill's History of Virginia 

(FOR FOURTH AND FIFTH READER GRADES) 



Magill's History of Virginia has been in general use in the private 
and public schools of Virginia since 1873. It has been carefully revised 
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and enlargement being made in 1890. Up to that time it comprised 268 
pages, and concluded with the narrative of John Brown's "Raid," 
leaving untold the story of Virginia's part in the great struggle between 
the States. 

The work of writing the history of the State up to this point had 
been undertaken by Miss Mary Tucker Magill soon after the close of 
the war, at the suggestion of leading Virginia educators, who realized 
the need for such a work. When, in 1890, it was felt that the time 
had come when the work might be completed in a spirit of perfect 
impartiality to both sides, and the part that Virginia bore in that great 
struggle for what she regarded as right, should be laid fairly before her 
sons and daughters, Miss Magill responded to the call and completed the 
work of love which she had so well begun many years before. How 
well she has performed the difficult task of writing an able, accurate 
and attractive History of Virginia is amply attested by the uniform 
approval of the best and most experienced educators in the State. 

The History as now enlarged contains 374 pages, printed on good 
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We submit this book strictly on its merits, believing it to be by far 
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We respectfully call attention to the fact that the State Board of 
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